Dangerous Beauty is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz, and starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell and Oliver Platt.

The film features a supporting cast that includes Fred Ward, Naomi Watts, Moira Kelly and Jacqueline Bisset.

Paola, Veronica's mother, plans for her family's financial security, as she still requires dowries for her younger daughters and money for her son's commission.

Impressing the powerful men of Venice with her beauty, wit, and compassion, Veronica quickly gains a reputation as a top courtesan.

Nevertheless, Veronica spends a great deal of time with Marco, neglecting her business and ignoring her mother's warnings that such a relationship is dangerous for her.

Veronica points out that she sacrificed their love for the good of the city, while he only did it to protect his family's political standing, so Marco leaves for war angry.

Religious zealots take the war and plague as punishment for the city's moral degradation, and Veronica's home is quarantined and almost ransacked by a mob.

[4] Another musical version of Dangerous Beauty premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in February 2011, starring Jenny Powers as Veronica Franco and James Snyder (actor) as Marco Venier.