PBefore answering, Deva Cassel reflects: «Wait, let me think, I want to find the right word”. And it’s not just because this twenty-one-year-old actress and model, daughter of the Italian star Monica Bellucci and the French actor Vincent Cassel, speaks five languages fluently and could get confused between Italian, French, English, Spanish or Portuguese: it is precisely because impulsiveness is not part of his nature, having an introspective nature, and a strong spiritual dimension that goes beyond his age.
Deva Cassel is spontaneous and easy-going despite having already accumulated significant experience in fashion and cinema: Cartier and Dior ambassador, she posed and modeled for brands such as Dolce&Gabbana, Fendi, Alberta Ferretti. And he starred in Laura Luchetti’s film The beautiful summer and in the Netflix series The Leopard in the role of Angelica. Listening to her, she really sounds like her mother, who she tenderly calls “my mom”.
Did she give her the name Deva?
She actually would have liked Diva, but my father said that wasn’t really the case, for quite obvious reasons (laughs). My parents were looking for an old Italian name and chose something that had a sound resemblance. Only after calling me Deva did they discover its meaning: in the Hindu religion it is the name of a god who is neither woman nor man, and who transmits messages from heaven to earth.
Does it reflect her?
Of course, I don’t compare myself to a god! I’m a very open person and I can receive and transmit all kinds of messages, let’s put it that way.
She was born in Rome…
Yes, but following my parents’ work, I have always moved around a lot. First between Rome and Paris, then in Brazil, London and Portugal. My life has been full of movement, with never a place to just stay still.
As a child it must have been difficult not to put down roots…
I have always felt like a citizen of the world: I understood that movement could be my form of stability. Maybe, at ten, twelve years old, I would have wanted my own permanent group
of friends, but I am of the opinion that a person grows with what he finds along his path, so those who are used to moving from birth find it strange to stay still. I can’t stay too long in one city, one country, or repeat a language. I have a restless temperament, partly because of how I grew up, but also because of who I am.
Galeotto was the set: Deva Cassel-Angelica and Saul Nanni-Tancredi fell in love while filming the series The Leopard. Cr. Lucia Iuorio/Netflix © 2025
Model and actress: did you want to follow your parents’ careers?
In fact, they never forced me to follow in their footsteps. Of course, attending sets or shootings immediately brought me closer to their world. And I was fascinated by it.
Do they give you advice?
So many, and they don’t stop doing it! They tell me to keep my head on my shoulders, to stay humble, and to always be hungry for new things, without ever thinking that I have arrived.
What studies did you do?
I followed the French school path up to high school diploma, choosing art, philosophy and languages. I would have liked to study Psychiatry at university, but I started working very early: I wanted to leave myself the freedom to follow a path that corresponded to my artistic and emotional instincts.
His debut on the big screen with The beautiful summer.
One day I received a call from director Laura Luchetti who was shooting the film based on the novel by Cesare Pavese. She came to Paris and, after an audition and three meetings, I was taken. I didn’t know what to expect, but after a while I discovered that I really liked acting.
Deva Cassel, 21 years old, was born in Rome. She is an actress and model (she is 1.80 cm tall) and here she is wearing a Dior jacket and skirt. Panthère de Cartier ring, necklace and earrings. Photo by Agata Pospieszynska
Laura Luchetti defined it as “a geyser”: why?
Because on set I seemed precise and organized, but then at any moment I exploded with laughter that broke that apparent ice.
The explosive laugh, in fact, is one of the traits of Angelica’s character in the Netflix series The Leopard.
I was truly intimidated by that role that was so much bigger than me, due to the cultural importance that Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel and Visconti’s film have for Italy and for the history of cinema. But I decided to face the challenge, because in life things must be done with courage.
On set she met Saul Nanni, who is now her partner: how do you reconcile your professions?
We’ve been together for two and a half years. We are very free and independent people, we support each other, we want to see each other shine, we continue to conquer each other, we never get bored. It’s a sweet and romantic relationship, and we feel like it’s the beginning of something big, which can take us far.
For example towards marriage?
At 21, I’m not really thinking about marriage (laughs). But I would like children, even if I don’t know when.
Upcoming projects?
Fashion moves forward, because there is never a pause button for that (laughs). I like the way in which the Cartier maison, of which I am an ambassador, presents its jewels: it is an elegant and innovative universe and always has beautiful stories to tell. As an actress, however, I played The Phantom of the Opera, a French production, and Zero AD, an American project shot in Morocco: both will be released in 2026. I’m trying to build my career calmly, I’m not interested in accepting everything.
How would you describe your style?
Soft but structured. I like clothes that are easy to wear, in which I can move well, comfortable shoes I can walk in for hours – I can’t wear heels because otherwise I’ll become three meters tall! (she is 1.80 meters tall, ed.) – and I like to contrast my femininity with masculine clothes.
What is beauty for you?
My mother always said that beauty is like a Ferrari, if you don’t know how to drive it you’ll crash! It can be very helpful in life, but it certainly can’t define you, and it can’t be the only thing you fuel. True beauty is internal.
In the Hindu religion, Deva is the name of a deity who is neither female nor male. Shirt, skirt and pumps, all Dior. Clash de Cartier earrings, necklace, bracelet and ring. Photo by Agata Pospieszynska
Meaning what?
An aesthetically imperfect person – at least by standards – but intelligent, cultured, patient, listening and kind becomes more beautiful than any model.
You mentioned kindness: in your environment it is not always taken for granted…
In my experience, the kinder you are, the more good things come, especially if you really are, because you can tell when kindness is fake.
Who are your role models?
My friends, real people. Being inspired by the people we have close to us is important.
What are you reading right now?
In literature Paulo Coelho and the philosopher Alan Watts.
The myths of cinema, however?
Paolo Sorrentino, Andrei Tarkovsky and Elem Klimov, the Russian director of Come and See, a hard film to watch but poetic. And Greta Gerwig.
She is beautiful, young and a woman: how does she move in the world?
I believe that being a woman today is fortunate but also a constant battle, and that for a woman, but also for a man, contemporary life is truly difficult. It’s right to be aware of what’s happening in the world, bad, dark things happen.
He often mentions the adjective “dark”. How do you relate to the darkness of this historical moment?
I started meditating a year and a half ago and it is helping me a lot. My way of metabolizing the darkness is to take a little at a time, like a homeopathic cure, so I create antibodies. And it’s important to focus on the things that make life a little more beautiful and lighter, like art: I’ve been lucky enough to meet people who have so much light inside that when they enter a dark environment they light it up effortlessly, and they don’t even see the darkness.
Like Saul Nanni?
Yes, Saul is really bright.