Bellucci and Cassel to become parents

Italian screen beauty Monica Bellucci is pregnant with her first child.

The actress, 39, who plays Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson’s controversial film The Passion Of The Christ, and her French actor husband Vincent Cassel, 37, are expecting their first child this autumn.

Bellucci and Cassel reportedly had marital problems in 2002 and allegedly split after starring in another controversial movie, Irreversible, which depicted graphic rape scenes. The couple married in 1999. Cassel is due to begin filming Ocean’s Twelve next month.