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.
1. Met with a studio about my already shot romcom and they won’t buy it until
— nina lee (@NinaSerafina) March 25, 2026
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does
2. Met with an exec about a romance script I have, they won’t buy it until
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does
3. Go see this film!
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.
She was the com in Romcom. I love her https://t.co/S1yrpiUIoh
— Supernova Momma (@SupernovaMomma) April 12, 2026
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.”
What set this collaboration apart, though, was what came next. Rather than handing Stella a final script and sending her on her way, Coiro opened the floor.
“She straight away opened up a conversation where she wanted my feedback on the role, on everything Italian in the movie. She really wanted everything to be authentic.”
That kind of directorial generosity is not common. And what Stella did with that invitation? That is where it gets really good.
Flipping the Script on Plus Size Representation in Film
This is where Stella Pecollo’s impact goes beyond performance and directly into changing the conversation around plus size representation in film.
Stella Pecollo is a body positive advocate and activist, and she brought that part of herself directly into the room when she sat down with Coiro to discuss Francesa’s storyline. An early draft of the script had Francesa’s husband potentially cheating on her. Stella did not love it.
“I don’t love the idea of portraying a woman that has that type of journey, especially with my body type,” she said. “And she was like, ‘You know what, I totally agree with you.'”
They rewrote it. Together. From scratch. The plumber subplot that audiences got to enjoy? That was not in the original script. “The director and myself created it from scratch because she was listening to me and gave me the chance to express my concerns in regard to the representation of my role as a woman and also as a plus size woman.”
For anyone who has spent years watching plus size women in film get reduced to the butt of a joke, the heartbroken best friend, or the character whose weight is the entire plot point, this matters.
Vice noted in a piece on plus size rom-com representation, we are still waiting for Hollywood to consistently get this right. Francesa is proof that it is possible.
“It’s never mentioned in the movie, anything about my size, anything about my body,” Stella shared. “My character enjoys food, she enjoys passion, she enjoys life, she’s full of life, bubbly… and that’s it. She’s just a woman having her life.”
A woman having her life.
Not the joke.
Not the lesson.
Not the transformation.
Just… living.
We love to see it.
The Clothes Make the Cousin
You cannot talk about Francesa without talking about the wardrobe. Massimo Cantini Parrini designed every look, and the result is an on-screen wardrobe that is a whole mood. Every time Francesa walks into a room, the colors are doing something. The patterns are saying something. The energy is non-negotiable.
Stella’s personal favourite? The yellow floral dress Francesa wears the first time she meets Halle’s character in the kitchen. “It’s short. It has a nice V-neck. And it’s also comfortable, which helps because you film many, many hours in those clothes.”
But what really made the wardrobe feel meaningful was how much of it already belonged to who Stella is outside of the set. “I spent many, many years hiding myself with black clothes, no colors, no patterns, so I could look skinnier,” she said. “I’m going to do the opposite now. And Francesa, the same. Enjoying colors and patterns and fun.”
There it is. Francesa was not just a character. She was a declaration.
“Io Sono Bella”: The Book That Started It All
Stella Pecollo’s work in this space didn’t start with You, Me and Tuscany.
Away from the screen, Stella has been doing this work for years. In 2020, she published a memoir in Italy called Io Sono Bella, which translates to “I Am Beautiful.” The book covers her journey toward self-acceptance, touching on love, food, relationships, and the eating disorder she navigated along the way.
Get this! A publishing house editor read a Vanity Fair Italy interview she gave while filming an Italian TV series. His pitch? Your story needs to be told. Stella’s response? It already is. She had been preparing a one-woman show on the same topics, and the material was sitting there, ready to go.
She is now working toward bringing the book to English-speaking audiences. And her reasoning for why it is needed right now hits. “They’re trying to sell us all these new products to lose weight,” she said. “And yeah, this is a discussion that we still need to have.”
She also made clear that this book is not just for plus size women. “Every single person has some kind of insecurity about their body and they need to kind of understand that it’s okay. We are not perfect. Nobody’s perfect.”
Nobody’s perfect. It’s a song. But it’s also just true.
What’s Coming Next
There are projects in the works that Stella is not able to name just yet, but she shared that she is currently writing two screenplays inspired by Io Sono Bella, collaborating with writers in both Italy and the United States. “It’s also a challenge to write in a language that is not my native language,” she said. “So it’s very stimulating, very exciting.”
And yes. She has heard the calls for a sequel to You, Me and Tuscany. We have all heard them. On Threads, on TikTok, in group chats. People are already planning the trilogy.
“Fingers crossed,” Stella said.
Fingers crossed indeed.
The Legacy
When asked what she wants to leave behind, Stella didn’t hesitate.
Stella did not need long to answer.
“The main legacy that I want to leave is for people, especially women, to really truly deeply love themselves first before anything else. When I see a woman blossoming into becoming the best version of herself, not because she’s on a diet, but because she started loving herself, to me, it’s the most beautiful thing in life.”
If Francesa is any measure of what Stella Pecollo brings into every room she walks into, the world is lucky she decided to bring herself to this one.
You, Me and Tuscany is in theaters now. Go see it. Go see it again. And while you’re at it, follow Stella Pecollo on Instagram and keep your eyes on everything she does next.
