Francesca Bellini-De Simone was attracted to working in the entertainment industry by early Debbie Reynolds movies. As a background dancer, Bellini-De Simone worked on the feature film Carousel which starred Shirley Jones and Gordon McRae as well as on television variety programming such as The Dinah Shore Show. She went on to work as a production assistant, then became a stage manager on All in the Family for producer Norman Lear.
As a stage manager, Francesca Bellini-De Simone became one of the few women working on directorial teams for NBC and CBS on game shows such as The Hollywood Squares, Name That Tune, and Wheel of Fortune. She held the position of stage manager on the iconic daytime drama Days of Our Lives for over thirty years, and also stage managed The Bold and the Beautiful. She then became one of the first women to stage manage for NBC sports broadcasts, including golf tournaments, the Rose Bowl, basketball, football and baseball games. Along the way, Bellini-De Simone also worked on many musical and variety shows such as Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In and numerous Bob Hope Specials.
With her 1988 World Series directorial team, Bellini-De Simone received the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Sports, and for her work on Days of Our Lives, she has received 5 Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Directing Team. Francesca Bellini-De Simone served on the DGA's Western AD/SM/PA Council for three terms and as an alternate for two terms. She also served on the National Board from 1981-1983.