What is Asia Argento's Net Worth?
Asia Argento is an Italian actress, singer, model, and director who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Asia Argento' notable acting credits include the films "Queen Margot," "Traveling Companion," "xXx," and "Marie Antoinette," while her directorial credits include "Scarlet Diva," "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," and "Misunderstood."
After becoming a leader of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Argento was herself accused of sexually abusing a young actor.
Asia was dating chef Anthony Bourdain at the time of his death in 2018.
Early Life
Asia Argento was born as Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento on September 20, 1975 in Rome, Italy to actress Daria Nicolodi and film director Dario Argento, renowned for his influential work in the Italian giallo genre of horror films. As a child, she would be read her father's horror screenplays as bedtime stories. Feeling lonely, depressed, and unloved by her father, Argento ran away from home at the age of 14.
Film Career, Part 1
Argento made her major feature film debut in 1986 in Lamberto Bava's Italian horror film "Demons 2." Three years later, she was in another Italian horror film, "The Church." Argento subsequently appeared in the comedy "Red Wood Pigeon" and the teen drama "Close Friends." In 1993, she starred in her father's giallo horror film "Trauma," and also appeared in the comedy "Diary of a Man Condemned to Marriage." Argento had one of her most notable years on the big screen in 1994, when she was in the historical drama "Queen Margot" and the comedy "Let's Not Keep in Touch." For her performance in the latter film, she won the David di Donatello Award for Best Actress. Argento won a second David di Donatello Award for Best Actress for her work in the 1996 drama "Traveling Companion." That same year, she starred in her father's film "The Stendhal Syndrome."
After starring in the Italian comedy "Viola Kisses Everybody," Argento made her transition to English-language cinema with a starring role in Abel Ferrara's 1998 erotic cyberpunk film "New Rose Hotel." Also that year, she starred in the British-American crime drama "B. Monkey" and her father's "The Phantom of the Opera." To start the new millennium, Argento made her feature film directorial debut with "Scarlet Diva," in which she also starred. In 2002, she had her international breakthrough as an actress playing an undercover spy opposite Vin Diesel in the Hollywood action film "xXx." Argento subsequently directed her second feature film, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," in which she also starred.
Film Career, Part 2
In 2005, Argento appeared in notable films from two major auteurs: Gus Van Sant's "Last Days" and George A. Romero's "Land of the Dead." The following year, she was in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" and Tony Gatlif's "TranSylvania." Argento's subsequent credits included Olivier Assayas's "Boarding Gate"; Abel Ferrara's "Go Go Tales"; Catherine Breillat's "The Last Mistress"; and her father's "Mother of Tears." She closed out the 00s with roles in "On War" and "Diamond 13."
Argento appeared in four films in 2011, all Italian: "Horses," "Islands," "Baciato Dalla Fortuna," and "Drifters." The next year, she appeared in the French comedy "Do Not Disturb" and her father's "Dracula 3D." Argento was subsequently in the romantic dramas "Obsessive Rhythms" and "Shongram." In 2014, she directed her third feature film, "Misunderstood." Argento's later film credits include the American thriller "Agony" and her father's 2022 film "Dark Glasses."
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Other Media Appearances
In addition to film, Argento has appeared in many other forms of media. On television, she played Éponine in a French television miniseries adaptation of "Les Misérables" in 2000. Later, she competed in the eighth season of the Italian reality series "Pechino Express." Argento has also shown up in various music videos, including those for Placebo's "This Picture" and Sean Lennon's "Dead Meat." Elsewhere, she has modeled for the Italian fashion brand Miss Sixty.
Writing
Argento has written for such magazines as L'Espresso and Dynamo. In 1999, she released her first novel, "I Love You Kirk." Argento also penned an autobiography entitled "Anatomy of a Wild Heart," which came out in 2021.
Relationships
With Italian singer-songwriter Morgan, whom she dated from 2000 to 2006, Argento had a daughter named Anna Lou. Argento later married film director Michele Civetta in 2008; they had a daughter named Nicola Giovanni. The couple eventually divorced in 2013. Three years after that, Argento began a relationship with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. They remained together until his suicide in 2018.
Harvey Weinstein Assault
Asia was at one point a prominent and vocal member of the #metoo movement. In an October 2017 New Yorker article, Ronan Farrow alleged that Asia had been sexually assaulted by producer Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s. Several months later she delivered a famous speech at the Cannes Film Festival in which she accused Weinstein of raping her. It has also been revealed that Asia had consensual sex with Weinstein a number of times over the next five years.
These allegations made Argento a leader among survivors speaking out for themselves during the #MeToo movement. In early 2021, Argento came out with more accusations when she claimed director Rob Cohen drugged and raped her during the filming of "xXx."
James Bennett Allegations
In a strange twist, in August 2018 a New York Times article alleged that Asia herself sexually assaulted a 17 year old male actor named James Bennett. The alleged incident allegedly too place in a hotel suite in 2013, when she was 37. Asia reportedly paid Bennett $380,000 in alleged "hush money" to settle his claims. When these allegations became public Asia released a statement in which she denied having a sexual relationship with Bennett. She further claimed that her boyfriend at the time Anthony Bourdain was actually the one who paid the settlement with Bennett – against her wishes – in order to make the allegations go away. She also reportedly asked Bourdain to pay the settlement because at the time she was "broke". This information came out when a series of text messages between Asia and Anthony were made public:
One of Bourdain's texts to Argento said"
"You are not buying silence. Only freedom from inconvenience. And to help a poor twisted goof get his life together."
Argento responded to Bourdain's text about not buying silence by writing:
"I will never buy his silence for something that isn't true since I am also broke. I don't fear him. I am no Puritan, google my ass."
