Franco Nero Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Franco Nero
Nero in 2016
Born	Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (1941-11-23) 23 November 1941 (age 83) San Prospero Parmense, Parma, Italy
Occupation	Actor, producer, director
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Vanessa Redgrave (m. 2006)
Children	2, including Carlo
Relatives	Natasha Richardson (stepdaughter) Joely Richardson (stepdaughter)

Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known as Franco Nero, is a famous Italian actor. He became very well known for his role as the main character in the Western film Django (1966). This movie made him a popular star around the world. He has acted in over 200 movies and TV shows.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Franco Nero starred in many popular Italian film styles, like Westerns and detective movies. Some of his most famous films include: The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Camelot (1967), Die Hard 2 (1990), Letters to Juliet (2010), Cars 2 (2011), and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).

Franco Nero has a long relationship with actress Vanessa Redgrave. They met while filming Camelot. They got married in 2006 and have a son named Carlo Gabriel Nero (born 1969), who is also an actor.

Early Life and Beginnings
Acting Career
Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Beginnings

Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero was born in San Prospero Parmense, Italy. His father was an officer in the police force called the Carabinieri. Franco grew up in Bedonia and Milan. He first studied at a university but then decided to leave to study acting at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.

Acting Career

Nero as the main character in Django (1966)

Nero with Charlotte Rampling in Sardinia Kidnapped (1968)

Franco Nero's first small acting role was in a film called Pelle viva in 1962. His first main role was in the movie Django (1966). This film was a "Spaghetti Western," which means it was a Western movie made in Italy. Django became one of his most famous films. In 1966, he appeared in eight more movies, including Texas, Adios and Massacre Time.

In 1967, he played Lancelot in the movie Camelot. This is where he met Vanessa Redgrave, who later became his wife. After Camelot, he starred in the mafia film The Day of the Owl (1968) with Claudia Cardinale.

Franco Nero also acted in several English-language films, such as Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Enter the Ninja (1981), and Die Hard 2 (1990). Even though he was often cast in Westerns, he played many different types of characters. For example, he played Abel in the epic film The Bible: In The Beginning (1966) and a gay lieutenant in Querelle (1982). He has been in over 150 films and even wrote, produced, and starred in one called Jonathan degli orsi (1993).

More recently, Franco Nero appeared in the Hungarian film Honfoglalás (Conquest) in 1996. He also starred in Li chiamarono... briganti! (1999) and Sacra Corona (Holy Crown) in 2001.

In 2010, Nero acted with Vanessa Redgrave in the movie Letters to Juliet. In 2011, he was a guest star on the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. That same year, he received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Canada.

In 2012, Franco Nero made a special appearance in the film Django Unchained. He appeared in a scene with Jamie Foxx, who played the new Django. Nero's character asked Foxx's Django how to spell his name, which was a fun nod to his original Django film.

In 2020, Nero appeared in the comedy film The Immortalist. In 2024, he was an executive producer for a drama film called The Estate, which was directed by his son, Carlo Gabriel Nero. Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave also star in this film.

Personal Life

Nero with his son Carlo in 1979

Franco Nero's romantic relationship with English actress Vanessa Redgrave started in 1966 when they met on the set of Camelot. In 1969, they had a son, Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Sparanero, who is known as Carlo Gabriel Nero. He is a screenwriter and director. After being apart for many years, they got back together and married on December 31, 2006. Carlo Nero directed Vanessa Redgrave in the movie The Fever.

Franco Nero also has another son, Frank Sparanero (born in 1983). Frank is an actor, artist, architect, and photographer.

In 1994, Franco Nero walked his future stepdaughter, Natasha Richardson (1963–2009), down the aisle when she married actor Liam Neeson. Natasha's father, Tony Richardson, had passed away earlier.