Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci lovingly held hands as they sat in the audience of his Hollywood Walk Of Fame ceremony Tuesday.
The 66-year-old filmmaker was honored with a star on the world-renowned promenade at an event filled with celebrities.
He was treated to speeches by Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, who have a professional history with him stretching back to the 1980s.
But it was Monica, 59, who stole the show while seated beside Tim, 66, over a year and a half after they were first linked in February 2023.
They appeared unable to keep their hands off each other as they sat side by side in the audience, listening to the glowing testimonials to Tim.
Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci lovingly held hands as they sat in the audience of his Hollywood Walk Of Fame ceremony Tuesday
In a nod to Tim’s characteristically horror-tinged and offbeat movies, both he and Monica were dressed in head-to-toe black, as was Winona.
Monica, the Italian screen siren who was previously married to Vincent Cassel, opted for an off-the-shoulder top with a cowl and an elegant set of matching slacks.
Sharpening her luminous complexion with makeup, she wore her hair down with a bit of fringe that spilled over her jet-black shades.
In her heartwarming speechWinona hailed Tim: ‘I mean, giving him this star is sort of like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the tallest mountain.’
She was only 17 years old when she first became a star in Tim’s 1988 movie Beetlejuice – and can now be seen in its new sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
‘Tim has such a beautiful and unique understanding of the human heart. He knows the heartache of the misunderstood, the strange and the unusual,’ she said.
‘He doesn’t just understand them; he celebrates them. Whether outcasts, oddballs, terrifying or hilarious, he gives them depth, humor and always a certain gallantry and he gives them their dignity. His heroes are the very outcasts that he loves.’
She explained: ‘To work with Tim is like being invited to wander through his heart and imagination. It’s the ultimate cathedral and one of my most cherished and sacred places to be, and I am eternally grateful for the time that I have spent there.’
The 66-year-old filmmaker was honored with a star on the world-renowned promenade at an event filled with celebrities
He was treated to speeches by Michael Keaton (left) and Winona Ryder (right), who have a professional history with him stretching back to the 1980s
But it was Monica, 59, who stole the show while seated beside Tim, 66, over a year and a half after they were first linked in February 2023
They appeared unable to keep their hands off each other as they sat side by side in the audience, listening to the glowing testimonials to Tim
Monica, the Italian screen siren who was previously married to Vincent Cassel, opted for an off-the-shoulder top with a cowl and an elegant set of matching slacks
Sharpening her luminous complexion with makeup, she wore her hair down with a bit of fringe that spilled over her jet-black shades
In her heartwarming speech, Winona hailed Tim: ‘I mean, giving him this star is kind of like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the tallest mountain’
Turning to Tim, who was standing beside her, she told him that ‘your friendship has been such an enormous gift. When I met you, I was a weird kid.’
‘Now you’re a weird adult!’ Tim interjected, getting a laugh from Winona as she replied: ‘I know!’ before returning to her speech.
‘You affirmed my voice. You’ve reinforced my confidence to be myself, to go against the tides of conformity. Your creative inclusiveness showed me what true artistic collaboration looked like, and in other words, you made being a weird girl not just okay, but something to celebrate and even kind of cool.’
She concluded: ‘And you’ve carried that torch for us weirdos everywhere, making us all feel seen and valued. Congratulations. I love you so much!’
Tim then received a tip of the hat from Michael, whom he directed in both Beetlejuice movies as well as the superhero films Batman and Batman Returns.
In his speech, Michael shared the story of how Tim stood by his decision to cast him as Batman in spite of the backlash that resulted.
Michael had initially been known as a comic actor – a reputation that was only enhanced by his turn in the original Beetlejuice.
As a result, the decision to select him as Batman raised eyebrows in show business, and yet Tim refused to reconsider the casting choice.
She was only 17 years old when she first became a star in Tim’s 1988 movie Beetlejuice – and can now be seen in its new sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
‘Tim has such a beautiful and unique understanding of the human heart,’ she said: ‘He knows the heartache of the misunderstood, the strange and the unusual’
She showered praise on Tim for having ‘made being a weird girl not just okay, but something to celebrate and even kind of cool’
In his speech, Michael shared the story of how Tim stood by his decision to cast him as Batman in spite of the backlash that resulted
The 72-year-old Birdman star was seated in the audience between Monica and his girlfriend Marni Turner, 51, whom he has been linked to for a decade
Monica was also able to enjoy a warm moment in the audience with Danny DeVito, whom she co-stars with in Tim’s new picture Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
In his speech, Tim gushed that getting a star was ‘very special to me,’ remembering that ‘as a child I used to come down here from Burbank on the bus, no adults’
With his trademark mordant wit, he added: ‘In fact, I was young enough to think that these things were actually gravestones when I first came here’
Michael hailed Tim’s ‘openness to ideas and creativity’ as well as to the ‘wonderful lack of pretension’ he has exhibited in his movies over the years.
He then looked back on the ‘uproar’ that resulted when Tim cast Michael as Batman, after his goofy turn as the title character in Beetlejuice.
‘You would’ve thought we were being invaded. You know, it was unbelievable. The press went crazy. But he stuck by me. And the guts it took for him to make that decision will always be special to me obviously,’ said Michael.
The 72-year-old Birdman star was seated in the audience between Monica and his girlfriend Marni Turner, 51, whom he has been linked to for a decade.
Monica was also able to enjoy a warm moment in the audience with Danny DeVito, whom she co-stars with in Tim’s new picture Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
In his speech, Tim gushed that getting a star was ‘very special to me,’ remembering that ‘as a child I used to come down here from Burbank on the bus, no adults.’
With his trademark mordant wit, he added: ‘In fact, I was young enough to think that these things were actually gravestones when I first came here.’