Lorenza Francesca Izzo Parsons (/ləˈrɛnzə ˈɪzoʊ/; Spanish: ; born September 19, 1989) is a Chilean actress and model. She has appeared in films, including Aftershock (2012), The Green Inferno (2013), Knock Knock (2015), and Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
Early life
Izzo was born in Santiago, Chile, to Chilean model Rosita Parsons . She is of Italian descent on her father's side. She has a younger sister, Clara Lyon Parsons, who is a model as well. When she was twelve, she moved to Atlanta with her father, who was working towards a Ph.D. at Georgia Institute of Technology. She was bullied over her strong Chilean accent, but said she "got over accent pretty fast" after watching the 2002 sports film Blue Crush several times. She recalls becoming "obsessed with Kate Bosworth."
Career
In 2007, Izzo was modeling and studying journalism at the University of the Andes (Universidad de los Andes) when she moved to New York City to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
In 2010, she made her acting debut in Instrucciones para mi funeral (Instructions for my Funeral), an independent film made by Sebastián Radic as a graduation project.
Izzo's modeling career reached its peak in 2011 when she and her mother were invited to São Paulo Fashion Week, where they met Gisele Bundchen. It resulted in Izzo becoming the new face of Colcci, a Brazilian fashion company. That year, Izzo appeared in Que pena tu boda (Sorry About Your Wedding) a comedy by Chilean director Nicolás López.
In 2012, with one commercial feature movie to her name and three more about to be released—Que pena tu familia (What a Pity About Your Family), Aftershock, and The Green Inferno (directed by her then-future husband, now ex-husband, Eli Roth)—Izzo moved to Los Angeles, when she soon secured small roles in Hemlock Grove and the failed television pilot I Am Victor.
In 2015, Izzo starred with Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas in Knock Knock. Her second horror film directed by Eli Roth, it was filmed in Santiago's Chicureo neighbourhood.
Personal life
On November 8, 2014, Izzo married American actor and director Eli Roth on the beach of Zapallar, Chile. They were introduced by mutual friend and director Nicolás López during the production of 2012's Aftershock. López was unaware Izzo could speak English, and she originally had a small role in the film. When he learned she could speak English fluently, Roth cast her in the lead, where they "spent the whole shooting process together". She attributes the start of their relationship to "the randomness of the world". They filed for divorce in July 2018; it was finalized in August 2019. Izzo publicly came out as pansexual in an online interview with actress Emily Hampshire for the 2020 Pride Month. In 2023 Izzo married her girlfriend, writer and director Sophie Tabet.
