Coppola family
| Coppola family | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Current region | California New York |
| Etymology | Italian term for flat cap |
| Place of origin | Bernalda, Italy |
| Founded | January 28, 1908 (marriage of Agostino Coppola and Maria Zasa, New York City) |
| Distinctions | 8 Academy Awards 10 Golden Globes 2 BAFTA Awards 1 Grammy Award 2 Palme d'Or 1 Golden Lion |
| Estate | Inglenook |
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The Coppola family (/ˈkoʊpələ/ KOH-pə-lə, Italian: [ˈkɔppola]) is an Italian-American family of filmmakers and performing artists. The family originates from Agostino "August" Coppola (1882–1946) and Maria Zasa (1887–1974), both immigrants to the United States from Bernalda in the region of Basilicata, who married on January 25, 1908. They had seven children, Archimedes, Carmine, Pancrazzo, Mario, Anton, Edward and Clarence; two of these, Anton and Carmine, had music careers in the 20th century.
Third and fourth generation family members, including Francis Ford Coppola, Talia Shire, Sofia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Nicolas Cage, are descended from Carmine Coppola. Over five decades, they have earned multiple Academy Awards wins and nominations, with seven out of nine members of the extended family topping the list of Oscar-winning families.
Francis Ford Coppola, a son of Carmine, co-founded the film production company American Zoetrope with fellow filmmaker George Lucas and cemented his career by directing the gangster film The Godfather (1972), regarded by many critics as one of the greatest films ever made.[1] He is a prominent figure of the New Hollywood era and was a dominant force in the Hollywood film industry in the 1970s and 1980s, and his descendants have independently continued the family legacy.
History
Generations
The first generation originates from Bernalda in the region of Basilicata. Agostino "August" Coppola (1882–1946) immigrated to the United States circa 1905. He married Maria Zasa (1887–1974) (also from Bernalda) on January 25, 1908. They had seven children—Archimedes, Carmine, Pancrazzo, Mario, Anton, Edward and Clarence.
Composer Carmine Coppola and his wife Italia "Pennino" Coppola had three children: a university professor August Coppola, a filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939–), and actress Talia "Coppola" Shire. Unlike Carmine, a composer and conductor Anton is the one of six siblings of Carmine to not descent their children to filmmaking and music careers. Anton and Carmine are the only second generation members of the family to actively work on music careers in the 20th century, spanning their careers to later generations.
August had three sons: actor and DJ Marc Coppola, actor-director Christopher Coppola, and actor Nicolas Kim Coppola, better known as Nicolas Cage.
Francis Ford had three children: producer Gian-Carlo, filmmaker Roman, and former actress and filmmaker Sofia.
Talia Shire has three sons from her two marriages: Matthew Shire, actor-screenwriter-musician Jason Schwartzman, and director-actor-musician Robert Schwartzman.
Family tree
| Marc Coppola (b. 1958) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Natasha Downing (b. 1990) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elizabeth Coppola (b. 1962) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cayley Coppola (b.2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christopher Coppola (b. 1962) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| August Floyd Coppola[2] (1934–2009) | Child | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joy Vogelsang (1935–2021) | Child | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christina Fulton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weston Coppola Cage (b. 1990) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nicolas Kim Coppola[3] (a.k.a. Nicolas Cage) (b. 1964) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kal-El Coppola Cage (b. 2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alice Kim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| August Francesca Coppola Cage (b. 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riko Shibata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gian-Carlo Coppola (1963–1986) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gian-Carla Coppola (a.k.a. Gia Coppola) (b. 1987) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carmine Coppola (1910–1991) | Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Francis Ford Coppola[4] (b. 1939) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italia Pennino[4] (1912–2004) | Roman Coppola (b. 1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eleanor Neil (1936–2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sofia Coppola (b. 1971) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Romy Mars (b. 2006) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Pablo Croquet (a.k.a. Thomas Mars) (b. 1976) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| David Shire (b. 1937) | Child | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Child | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Talia Rose Coppola (a.k.a. Talia Shire) (b. 1946) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jason Schwartzman (b. 1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jack Schwartzman (1932–1994) | Child | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brady Cunningham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Child | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Coppola Schwartzman (b. 1982) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Child | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anton Coppola (1917–2020) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Child | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Child | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Academy Awards
The lineal descendants of Carmine Coppola and Italia Pennino have been nominated 24 times for an Academy Award, winning 8 times in categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Only four legitimate members of the family are Academy Award-winners: Carmine, Francis Ford, Nicolas Cage, and Sofia.
In addition, family in-laws such as Talia Shire's ex-husband David Shire,[5] Sofia Coppola's ex-husband Spike Jonze,[6] and Nicolas Cage's ex-wife Patricia Arquette[7] are also Academy Award winners. Talia Shire's late husband Jack Schwartzman is also the father of Oscar nominee John Schwartzman by a previous marriage.
| Wins | Nominations | |
|---|---|---|
| Carmine Coppola | 1 | 2 |
| Francis Ford Coppola | 5 | 14 |
| Talia Shire | 0 | 2 |
| Nicolas Cage | 1 | 2 |
| Roman Coppola | 0 | 1 |
| Sofia Coppola | 1 | 3 |
Coppola family Academy Awards nominations
Controversy
Due to Francis Ford's heritage as a patriarch of the family, several media outlets accused Francis Ford of nepotism for casting his children in his films since The Godfather—including his daughter Sofia, who appeared in The Godfather Part III. Despite positive reviews, this negatively impacted her career as an actress;[20] Sofia shifted away from her acting career to filmmaking in 1999; her last on-screen performance was in CQ in 2001.
This affected Francis Ford's nephews Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman, who also have been attributed to the aid of Francis Ford's filmography. Cage changed his last name to distance himself from such charges.[21]
See also
Notes
- ^ Shared with Edmund H. North
- ^ Shared with Mario Puzo
- ^ Shared with Gary Kurtz
- ^ Shared with Gray Frederickson and Fred Roos
- ^ Shared with Mario Puzo
- ^ Shared with Nino Rota
- ^ Shared with Fred Roos, Gray Frederickson and Tom Sternberg
- ^ Shared with John Milius
- ^ Shared with John Bettis
- ^ Shared with Wes Anderson
References
- ^ Gambino, Megan (January 31, 2012). "What is The Godfather Effect?". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- ^ Noland, Claire (October 30, 2009). "August Coppola dies at 75; professor was father of Nicolas Cage and brother of Francis Ford Coppola". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Free Family Tree, Genealogy and Family History". Family Tree Legends.
- ^ a b Cabanatuan, Michael (January 3, 2004). "Italia Coppola -- mother of filmmaker". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 6, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
- ^ "Academy Awards database". Oscars.org. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ "Academy Awards Database". Oscars.org. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ "Academy Awards Database". Oscars.org. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ "The 43rd Academy Awards | 1971". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 45th Academy Awards | 1973". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 46th Academy Awards | 1974". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 47th Academy Awards|1975". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 48th Academy Awards | 1976". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 52nd Academy Awards | 1980". www.oscars.org. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 63rd Academy Awards | 1991". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 68th Academy Awards | 1996". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 75th Academy Awards | 2003". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 76th Academy Awards | 2004". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "The 83rd Academy Awards | 2011". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (2013-01-22). "Exclusive Featurette: Original Screenplay Oscar Nominee 'Moonrise Kingdom'". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ Ferrier, Aimee (December 29, 2022). "The Coppolas: Unravelling the ultimate nepo-family". Far Out. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ Pall, Ellen (1994-07-24). "Nicolas Cage, The Sunshine Man". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2022-03-21.