- Is the first American woman and third woman overall to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award.
- With her 2004 Oscar win for screenwriting, she joined her cousin Nicolas Cage in making their family, the Coppolas, the second family to have three generations of Oscar winners with her father, Francis Ford Coppola; grandfather, Carmine Coppola; cousin Nicolas Cage, and herself all winners. The first family is the Huston: Anjelica Huston, John Huston, and Walter Huston.
- Sofia and her ex-husband Spike Jonze were the first married couple to both receive Best-Director Oscar nominations.
- Along with Al Pacino, she was one of the cast members who was involved in all three of The Godfather films: she played the christened baby in The Godfather (1972); a child on a steamboat in The Godfather Part II (1974); and Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III (1990). Her appearances in the first two movies went uncredited.
- At age 32, became the youngest woman ever to be Oscar-nominated as Best Director for Lost in Translation (2003).
- Replaced Winona Ryder in the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III (1990).
- Is one of a select few who have won both an Academy Award and a Razzie.
- Daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and Eleanor Coppola (née Neil).
- A friendship of many years with Quentin Tarantino blossomed into a serious relationship recently following Sofia's separation from her husband Spike Jonze.
- She played the niece of her real-life aunt Talia Shire in The Godfather Part III (1990).
- Her first appearance on film was as the baby in the baptism sequence in The Godfather (1972), which became the inspiration for a scene in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which Chancellor Palpatine declares the formation of the Empire while Anakin Skywalker kills the separatist leaders. Coppola appeared earlier in the Star Wars series, as the handmaiden Sache in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
- Gave birth to her first daughter, Romy Croquet, on November 28, 2006 at age 35; the father is her second husband, Thomas Mars.
- Her favorite films are Rumble Fish (1983), The Last Picture Show (1971), Sixteen Candles (1984), Lolita (1962), and Breathless (1960).
- Designer Marc Jacobs named The Sofia Bag after her.
- Traveled with her parents when her father was shooting on location; in the Philippines for Apocalypse Now (1979); and in Oklahoma, attending public school there, during shooting of The Outsiders (1983).
- Her father is of Italian descent; her mother is of British Isles ancestry.
- In 2004 she became the first American woman ever nominated for a Best-Director Oscar. The two other past Oscar nominees were New Zealander Jane Campion and Italian Lina Wertmüller.
- Directed one actor to an Oscar nomination: Bill Murray, who was nominated for Best Actor for Lost in Translation (2003).
- Cousin of Jason Schwartzman and Robert Schwartzman.
- Is one of two "Star Wars" cast members to direct a castmate in a movie. Frank Oz directed Ian McDiarmid in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Terence Stamp in Bowfinger (1999). Coppola directed Hayden Christensen in The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Rose Byrne in Marie Antoinette (2006).
- (August 27, 2011) Married her longtime boyfriend, Thomas Mars, with whom she has two daughters: 4-year-old Romy and 1-year-old Cosima. It is her second marriage.
- Studied photography at Mills College in Oakland, California, just east of San Francisco, and painting at the California Institute of the Arts (Cal-Arts) in Valencia, California, just north of Los Angeles.
- Never desired to become an actress, her interests lying solely in filmmaking. She was only cast as Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (1990) as a last-minute replacement for Winona Ryder because there was no time to hold auditions for a recast.
- Was attached to direct an live-action adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" for Universal Pictures in 2014, but left the next year after creative differences. She had wished to shoot the film completely underwater, attached Chloë Grace Moretz for the lead, and wanted Nicole Kidman to play a sea witch. Following her departure, the script was given a major rewrite but a new director couldn't be found. Walt Disney Pictures also announced their own live-action film of the fairy tale, which pushed the Universal film into further difficulties.
- Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival in 2014.
- Designer for street fashion label Milkfed, which she calls "a small T-shirt company".
- Gave birth to her second daughter, Cosima Croquet, on May 18, 2010 at age 39; the father is her second husband, Thomas Mars.
- Lives in an apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood.
- She directed her cousin Jason Schwartzman in Marie Antoinette (2006).
- She appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award winners: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). She also appeared in another film nominated for Best Picture: The Godfather Part III (1990).
- She has appeared in eight films directed by her father Francis Ford Coppola: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), The Cotton Club (1984), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), and The Godfather Part III (1990).
- Has stated that her favorite band is The Chemical Brothers.
- Collaborated with French fashion house Louis Vuitton on a collection of handbags (2008) and the resort collection 2012 (2011).
- Is an alumna of the children's theatre group MET2 along with Adam Lambert, Nicolas Cage , Matt McFarland, Kylie Tyndall, Keaton Tyndall, Vivian Bayubay, Nathan Norton, Derek Klena, Lauren Klena, and Roma Watkins.
- Aunt of Gia Coppola.
- Sister of Roman Coppola and Gian-Carlo Coppola.
- Granddaughter of Carmine Coppola and Italia Coppola.
- Her fragrance of choice is Fracas by Robert Piguet.
- Friend of Zoe R. Cassavetes.
- Great-granddaughter of Francesco Pennino.
- Attended film school at Cal Arts (California Institute of the Arts) in Valencia/Santa Clarita, CA.
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