Born a Star: Recognize This Icon from a 53-Year-Old Masterpiece?

Sofia Coppola has had a highly successful career as a director and screenwriter, known for films such as “The Virgin Suicides,” “Lost in Translation,” and more recently the gothic horror film “The Beguiled,” for which she won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the biopic “Priscilla.” However, her acting career began much earlier, even very early on. Many remember her role in “The Godfather Part III,” directed by her famous father Francis Ford Coppola, a role that garnered a lot of criticism for her stiff portrayal of Mary, the daughter of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino).

In an interview with The Guardian, Sofia Coppola mentioned her most embarrassing moment: “being on the cover of a magazine at 18 with the headline: ‘Did she ruin The Godfather?’” This harsh critique unfairly blamed the failure of a film on a single young woman, especially considering that wasn’t her only role in the saga. Indeed, she not only appears in one of the best scenes of the entire trilogy but also presents a fascinating detail that encapsulates Michael Corleone’s narrative arc from powerful figure to isolation. Additionally, she appears in all three films, making her part of a very select group of actors who have appeared in every “Godfather” film.

Sofia Coppola in the First Installment

As noted by Collider, Sofia Coppola often joined her father on set throughout her childhood, describing these experiences to the Daily Mail as a “circus.” Therefore, it’s not surprising that her role in the third part of “The Godfather” was neither her first nor second appearance in the acclaimed trilogy. In fact, she played the role of Connie’s (Talia Shire) baby during the iconic baptism scene in “The Godfather,” 18 years before the third installment. It was her crying, paired with the organ music, that heightened the tension and helped juxtapose Michael’s current innocent activity with the massacres occurring under his orders.

In a way, Sofia Coppola was present during both the highest and lowest moments for Michael, when he became the most powerful during the baptism in “The Godfather” and when he lost his most cherished possession as Mary was accidentally assassinated in his place at the end of the third part. She thus serves as a literal thread through the character’s arc and also helps us understand that his actions were always carried out for those he loved the most.

One of the Few Actresses to Appear in All 3 Films

But that’s not all: Sofia Coppola also played a role in “The Godfather Part II,” where IMDb lists her as playing the uncredited role of a “child on a boat,” likely during Vito Corleone’s (Marlon Brando / Robert De Niro) immigration to New York as a young boy. For this reason, Sofia Coppola is one of the few actresses to have appeared in all three films, joining a short list that includes Al Pacino, Talia Shire, and Richard Bright (Al Neri).

The “Godfather” trilogy is available for streaming on Paramount+.