Curriculum
Michelle Bonev (the stage name of Dragomira Boneva Ianeva) is an Italian filmmaker, actress, director, screenwriter, author, fashion model, TV host, film and television producer, philanthropist, Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist, Certified 3D Functional Movement Coach, as well as the founder of 3D Functional Yoga by Michelle Bonev Method™ and the Women Love Pro-Age Community. She was born in Bourgas, Bulgaria, on October 1, 1971, during the Communist era.
1990 — She left Bulgaria and moved to Italy, where she worked as a fashion model and became an Italian citizen.
1995 — She became an entrepreneur in the fashion industry as Vice President and a shareholder of one of the leading modeling agencies in Milan.
1998 — She moved to the United States, where she studied acting and screenwriting while assisting major Hollywood stars as a fashion adviser.
2002 — She began her film career as an actress in the international motion picture The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson.
2003 — She made her television debut as a host on Rai Uno at Sanremo Dopofestival alongside Pippo Baudo.
2003 — She co-starred in the Rai Uno prime-time miniseries Mai Storie d’Amore in Cucina (No Love Stories in the Kitchen) with Gigi Proietti, Stefania Sandrelli, and Bianca Guaccero.
2003 (December 16) — She published her autobiographical novel Alberi senza radici (Trees Without Roots) through Arnoldo Mondadori Editore and presented it at the Mondadori flagship bookstore near the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
2003 — She was featured on Rai Uno’s Porta a Porta, one of Italy’s most important national television talk shows, hosted by Bruno Vespa.
2004 — She co-starred in the Rai Uno prime-time miniseries La bambina dalle mani sporche (The Girl with Dirty Hands) with Ornella Muti, Sebastiano Somma, Philippe Leroy, Giuliano Gemma, and Remo Girone, directed by Renzo Martinelli.
2005 — She starred as the leading actress and worked as script supervisor in the Rai Uno prime-time miniseries L'Uomo che Sognava con le Aquile (The Man Who Dreamed with Eagles) with Terence Hill, directed by Vittorio Sindoni.
2006 — L'Uomo che Sognava con le aquile (The Man Who Dreamed with Eagles) became Italy's highest-rated scripted television program, reaching over 11 million viewers and a 39% audience share.
2006 — She starred as the leading actress and worked as script supervisor in the Rai Uno prime-time miniseries Operazione Pilota (Operation Pilot) with Massimo Ranieri, directed by Umberto Marino.
2007 — She starred as the main character and worked as script supervisor in the four-episode prime-time series Artemisia Sanchez, a France–Spain–Italy co-production led by Rai Uno, directed by Ambrogio Lo Giudice.
2007 — Artemisia Sanchez won prime-time ratings in all four broadcasts.
2008 — She wrote the script for Goodbye Mama, her autobiographical feature film.
2010 — She authored, directed, and performed the lead role in Goodbye Mama, produced under her production company Romantica Entertainment.
2010 (September 3) — She received the Action for Women Special Award as director and producer of Goodbye Mama at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights.
2011 — She wrote the script for the Rai prime-time miniseries Donne in Gioco (Women at Stake), the first Italian TV drama to address Gambling Disorder as a recognized disease and major social crisis.
2012 — She starred in, directed, and produced (through Romantica Entertainment) the prime-time miniseries Donne in Gioco (Women at Stake), broadcast on Canale 5.
2012 — Donne in Gioco (Women at Stake) was distributed internationally and broadcast on television networks worldwide.
2013 (October 10) — At the peak of her success, she chose to walk away from her artistic career.
2013 — She appeared live on Servizio Pubblico on La7 and publicly denounced the compromises she was forced to accept to develop her talents and grow professionally.
2013 — She entered the world of philanthropy and became a philanthropist.
2013 (December 12) — She founded L'Associazione Michelle Bonev (The Michelle Bonev Association), a nonprofit with the motto "No Human Being Deserves to Remain Invisible!" and a mission to promote human rights while helping people and communities living in extreme poverty and social hardship—the Forgotten Ones, the most vulnerable.
2019 (December 12) — She founded the Amatar Foundation, a nonprofit with the motto "Women empowerment to humanize the world!" and the purpose of promoting human development based on fundamental human values and universal responsibility.
2025 (November 10) — She founded Women Love Pro-Age Community on the Mighty Networks platform, with the motto: “Let’s build an unbreakable future Together.” It is a private sisterhood for women over 40 navigating Menopause and Perimenopause, offering ongoing support, guidance, and connection to help members thrive, not just survive, in this Chapter of life.
2025 (December 5) — She completed certification in Functional Techniques through Gray Institute®.
2025 (December 13) — She completed certification in 3DMAPS® (Three-Dimensional Movement Analysis & Performance System) through Gray Institute®.
2025 (December 17) — She completed certification in Foundations through Gray Institute®.
2025 (December 21) — She became a Certified 3D Functional Movement Coach through Gray Institute®.
2025 (December 29) — She became a Female Chain Reaction® Specialist through Gray Institute®.
2025 (December 30) — She earned the Girls Gone Strong Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification.
2026 (January 11) — She completed certification in Applied Functional Science® (CAFS) through Gray Institute®.
2026 (January 13) — She completed certification in Chain Reaction®: The Future of Human Movement through Gray Institute®.
2026 (January 18) — She became a Functional Yoga System Specialist through Gray Institute®.
2026 (March 2) — She founded 3D Functional Yoga by Michelle Bonev Method™ for Menopause and Perimenopause support with the motto “3D Functional Yoga keeps the wisdom of yoga, and adds the function and strategies your body needs in this chapter of life.”
3D Functional Yoga by Michelle Bonev Method™ is a 3D Movement method grounded in the science of the biomechanics of human movement. By blending progressive strength training, yoga poses, and 3D Movement techniques, it restores full joint function throughout the body in all 3 planes of motion, sagittal, frontal, and transverse, in order to help women over 40 build bone density and muscle mass, enhance pelvic core neuromuscular system function, improve mobility, stability, and endurance, as well as reduce belly fat and yoke mind, spirit, and body.
2026 — Inside Women Love Pro-Age, she teaches 3D Functional Yoga by Michelle Bonev Method™ for Menopause and Perimenopause Support, through weekly Global and Local Movement Classes. She also provides One-on-One Coaching, guiding women through her Signature Program, The 3-Step Plan to Thrive in Menopause and Perimenopause, an evidence-informed path structured around 3D Functional MOVEMENT, Mediterranean NUTRITION, and Pro-Age MINDSET.
