TMS Muse of the Week: Sofia Coppola
(Alamy / AA Film Archive)
Sofia Carmina Coppola. Like Drew Barrymore, it’s a birth name that is instantly destined for stardom. There are a lot of successful people from famous families, but to me, no one utilized her nepotism artistically better than Sofia. From Hollywood kid, to socialite, to fashionista, to third generation Oscar winner. Unlike her cousins Nicolas Cage or Jason and Robert Schwartzman, Sofia doesn’t hide behind a different surname; and hasn’t been tempted to disassociate from her showbiz royalty. In fact, I think the Coppolas might be the only celebrity dynasty who are constantly working together and regularly supporting each other publicly. Sofia’s made nine films as a writer-director, and all but one of them were produced through her father—Francis Ford Coppola’s—production company American Zoetrope. Ironically, for someone who is usually referenced as an influential name in independent filmmaking; her very first movie—a short film called Lick the Star (1998)—is the only feature of hers that’s entirely independent.
(Brian Hamill)
On the surface, Sofia’s upbringing seems like the glitz and glamour one might experience raised in showbusiness. Her debut on the big screen was as a baby in two of her father’s classics: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). Her first screenwriting credit was at age 17 for her FFC’s segment, ‘Life Without Zoe,’ of the anthology picture New York Stories (1989). In 1990, she co-starred in The Godfather Part III, which quickly turned out to be the wrong move into officially breaking through her career. Overnight Sofia became the butt of bad acting jokes and received Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzies. Fortunately, that wasn’t the last we saw of the starlet or her real talents. Anyone who’s watched Sofia’s few acting credits—whether it’s FFC’s Rumble Fish (1983) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) or her former husband, Spike Jonze’s music video for the Chemical Bros’ 1997 single ‘Elektrobank’—will notice these stints are mostly favors for friends and family.
In between her acting and directing efforts, Sofia was briefly the toast of the town in the 1990s as a part-time model for magazines like Seventeen, Elle and YM; appeared in music videos for songs like Sonic Youth’s ‘Mildred Pierce’ (1990) and Madonna’s ‘Deeper and Deeper’ (1992); co-founded her own fashion line Milkfed in 1994; and has contributed many ads and promotional videos as a director and model for Marc Jacobs’ fragrances since 2001. On top of all this, Sofia literally looks like a superstar with her voluminous, long mane of hair, slim figure and soft facial features [featuring her recognizably unique nose]. It’s no surprise her ex-boyfriends include rockstar Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, movie star Keanu Reeves and fellow showbiz kid Donovan Leitch. Which makes it impressive Sofia chose to focus her career behind the scenes rather than in the spotlight, like some of her peers.
(Focus Features / American Zoetrope)
The younger Coppola’s biggest successes to date are her full-length movie debut as a writer-director, an adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel The Virgin Suicides (1999); and her second penned film, the more original Lost in Translation (2003). The former instantly put her on the map in the indie film scene, coined a partnership with actress Kirsten Dunst and created the dreamy, euphoric aesthetic Sofia’s known for. [The one downside to this is that The Virgin Suicides also gave us that lame, fake ‘soft grunge’ trend rampant on Tumblr in the early 2010s.] Lost in Translation was an even bigger hit with audiences and critics as Sofia’s most successful film at the box-office, and gave her many Best Screenplay wins, such as the Academy Award. A lot of movie fans still believe male lead Bill Murray should have won Best Actor that year, and female lead Scarlett Johansson was pretty good too. Almost like a mix of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995) and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris (1972), Lost in Translation was very autobiographical with its influence primarily coming from Sofia’s first marriage. It’s ironic she still got insults and criticism from cynics and ‘haters’ for being born into the industry, even after becoming a successful filmmaker. Not only did the writer-director have an effect on her fans, but also the people around her.
(Jim Spellman / WireImage)
Ten years following Lost in Translation, Spike coins his own indie romantic dramedy filmed in Asia and featuring Scarlett Johansson: Her (2013). A lot of people expected the quirky, future set film to be inspired by Spike’s previous collaborator, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. But fans of Spike and Sofia instantly noticed more similarities in themes and tone between Her and Translation, beyond the shooting location and Scarlett’s presence. And two years after Her, Charlie writes and co-directs the stop-motion dark romcom Anomalisa (2015), which—again, feels like a companion piece to Her and Lost in Translation. To anyone who pays attention to fashion, it’s obvious Sofia is Marc Jacobs’ favorite lady to work with. So for someone accused of having it easy, she sure has made an impression on the men in her life.
(Steven Meisel)
Sofia has yet to make anything as commercially accessible as Lost in Translation again. But she has her avid fanbase who’ve stayed with her for future screen projects like Marie Antoinette (2006), Somewhere (2010), The Beguiled (2017) and On the Rocks (2020). Since parting ways with Spike in 2002, Sofia has settled down with second husband—lead singer Thomas Mars of the pop band Phoenix—in both Paris and NYC with their two daughters Romy [b. 2006] and Cosima [b. 2010]. Dig her or not, you can’t deny Ms. Coppola’s impact.