Stella Pecollo on You, Me and Tuscany and Why Plus Size Representation in Film Finally Feels Different

Did you know that the last Black-led rom-com to hit the big screen before You, Me and Tuscany was Think Like a Man back in 2012? Fourteen years.

Let that sit for a second. And yet here we are in 2026 with a Black-led rom-com produced by Will Packer, set in Tuscany, starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page, and doing its thing at theaters across the United States. So yes, we showed up. And yes, we have thoughts.

Because while the film delivers on romance and escapism, it also quietly pushes forward something Hollywood still struggles with: plus size representation in film.

Before we get into that, though, context matters.

The Movie That Had to Carry More Than Its Own Weight

A few weeks before You, Me and Tuscany opened, filmmaker Nina Lee shared something that had people pausing mid-scroll.

She revealed that she had met with a studio about her already-finished rom-com and was told they would not buy it until they saw how You, Me and Tuscany performed. She met with another exec about a separate script and heard the same thing. “A film that has nothing to do with me could quite literally change my life,” she wrote.

Studios were waiting to see how this film performed before making decisions on other rom-coms. Not similar films. Not connected projects.

Just… this one.

One movie carrying the weight of an entire genre.

Within 24 hours, her post picked up traction and sparked the kind of conversation that always feels like it should have happened years ago. Why does one Black-led rom-com have to prove viability for everyone else?

And still, the message underneath it all was clear.

Show up.

As Will Packer put it, “Hollywood watches and then they react. You vote with your dollars.”

The stakes were real, the conversation was necessary, and that whole “there’s room for everybody” energy? Still very much on the table.

A Black-Led Rom-Com That Actually Delivered

As a Black woman who has been learning Italian for 506 days and counting, spending those evenings doing Duolingo and daydreaming about cobblestone streets in Florence, this movie was already personal.

The Nina Lee conversation? That just added a little more intention to my solo theater date.

And I’m happy to report: it delivered.

You, Me and Tuscany follows Anna, played by Halle Bailey, a young cook who ends up in a Tuscan villa and falls into an unexpected romance with Michael, played by Regé-Jean Page.

The chemistry is easy. The setting is exactly what you want it to be. And Halle captures something really beautiful about reaching for more when you’re not quite sure how to ask for it yet.

But let’s be real for a second.

The character who had the entire theater reacting?

Francesa.

Enter Stella Pecollo

Played by Stella Pecollo, Francesa is Marcello’s cousin. She sweeps into every scene in the most joyful, chaotic, whimsically dressed way possible. She is loud in the best sense of the word. She is funny without trying to be.

She reminded me immediately of my favorite cousin, the one who does not check whether it is an appropriate moment before making you cry laughing. The audience around me felt it too. I could hear them.

So naturally, we had to talk to Stella.

TCF Sits Down with Stella Pec0llo

Stella Pec0llo is an Italian actress and singer who has built her career across Italy, the UK, and now the United States. She is also a body positive advocate, author, and, as it turns out, the kind of woman who makes you feel like you have known her forever about four minutes into a conversation.

From Italy, With Joy

Stella Pecollo’s journey into entertainment started early.

“Singing was my first passion. I’ve been singing since I was born, probably,” she told us, laughing.

Acting followed when she was around 15 or 16, and the two have coexisted ever since. “I’ve done short films, theater, plays, musical theater,” she said, “and then it got more serious. Movies, feature films, TV series, leading roles.”

She has worked primarily in Italy, spent years in the UK, and has now made her mark on American audiences through You, Me and Tuscany. And the response has been a lot to take in, in the best way.

And if there’s one thing she keeps coming back to, it’s this:

Joy.

“I’m getting so many messages from people. They tell me that I make them laugh. And that’s what we need always, and especially right now. Joy.”

Say it louder, Stella.

How Francesa Found Her

Here is where it gets good, because the story of how Stella landed the role of Francesa is almost as delightful as the character herself.

Director Kat Coiro was deep in pre-production in Rome when she sat down with the film’s Oscar-nominated costume designer, Massimo Cantini Parrini. They were still looking to fill a couple of roles when he simply pulled up Stella’s Instagram and said, essentially, what about her? “She was like, ‘Oh my God, she looks perfect for the role. Let me audition her,'” Stella told us.

After sending two auditions for two different roles, she heard back within 24 hours. “When this thing happens, you just know it’s going to be magical.”

On their first Zoom call, Coiro said something that stuck. “She told me, ‘I’m so happy that you are Italian, but you also understand the comedy timing of the American script.’ Because every country has a different comedy timing, and I’m so used to watching American comedy that I probably have it in me by now.”