British Actor Colin Firth Receives Italian Citizenship

Cast member Colin Firth arrives with his wife Livia Giuggioli for the world premiere of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" in London, Britain September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
Cast member Colin Firth arrives with his wife Livia Giuggioli for the world premiere of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" in London, Britain September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
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British Actor Colin Firth Receives Italian Citizenship

Cast member Colin Firth arrives with his wife Livia Giuggioli for the world premiere of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" in London, Britain September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
Cast member Colin Firth arrives with his wife Livia Giuggioli for the world premiere of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" in London, Britain September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

British actor Colin Firth, who has often played the role of a quintessential Englishman in his many films, has become an Italian citizen, Italy’s Interior Ministry said.

“The very famous actor, who won an Oscar for the film ‘The King’s Speech’, is married to a citizen from our country and has often declared his love for our land,” the ministry said in a statement.
The 57-year-old showed a loud opposition to Britain's plans to leave the EU, and said in May he intends to request the Italian citizenship.

Firth said he would remain a dual national, adding that his Italian-born wife would also be seeking British nationality.

“We never really thought much about our different passports,” the actor said in a statement.

“But now, with some of the uncertainty around, we thought it sensible that we should all get the same,” he added, in an apparent reference to last year’s British vote to leave the European Union.

Firth has been married to Italian film producer Livia Giuggioli since 1997 and the couple live with their two sons in Britain. Unlike some other EU countries, Italy and Britain both allow dual nationality.

“My wife and I are both extremely proud of our own countries,” Firth said.



Lion Owners Arrested after Attack on Woman, her 2 Children in Pakistan

Anisa, a lioness, receives a frozen treat at the zoo of Vincennes outside Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Anisa, a lioness, receives a frozen treat at the zoo of Vincennes outside Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
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Lion Owners Arrested after Attack on Woman, her 2 Children in Pakistan

Anisa, a lioness, receives a frozen treat at the zoo of Vincennes outside Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Anisa, a lioness, receives a frozen treat at the zoo of Vincennes outside Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

The owners of a pet lion that escaped from a farmhouse and injured a woman and her two children have been arrested in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, authorities said Sunday.

The arrest comes after dramatic video footage surfaced showing the lion leaping over a wall before attacking the victims in a residential area, The Associated Press reported.

The woman and her 5- and 7-year-old children sustained injuries to their faces and arms on Wednesday night when the lion escaped from its cage, police official Faisal Kamran said.

According to a police report, the children’s father told police that the lion’s owners stood by and watched as the animal clawed at his family, making no effort to restrain it. The lion later returned to the owners' farmhouse and was relocated to a wildlife park, police said.