Gina Lollobrigida, legend of Italian cinema, dies at the age of 95

Gina Lollobrigida, legend of Italian cinema and one of the greatest on-screen sex symbols of all time, died this Monday (16/1) in a Rome clinic, at the age of 95.

Among her many roles in Italian and American films, Lollobrigida was known for playing Humphrey Bogart’s wife in “The Devil Laughed Last” (1953) and for playing iconic seductresses, such as the gypsy Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1956) and the alluring Queen of Sheba in the epic “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” (1959).

Referring to Gina Lollobrigida’s beauty, Bogart also said she “makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple.”

Luigina “Gina” Lollobrigida was born on 4 July 1927 in Subiaco, a small village just over 100 kilometers from Rome. She spent much of her childhood and adolescence suffering the hardships caused by World War II and its frequent bombings. At one point, her family home was destroyed during the conflict.

Holder of a long career, with more than 60 films, Lollobrigida at first did not want to act. You studied sculpture and drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Her film work began as her extra, to help pay for her education and family support.

However, it wasn’t long before it caught the attention of manufacturers. After a participation in “The Secret of Don Juan” (1947), she received an invitation to her first leading role. Not wanting to take acting seriously, he asked for a million lire, hoping the producers would give up. But they did, and she became the epitome of postwar Italian glamor.

While participating in the comedy “Miss Italy” (1950), Lollobrigida was noticed by the American tycoon Howard Hughes, who had a habit of casting beautiful women for his films. Lollobrigida received English lessons and a residency at a Hughes hotel in Los Angeles. However, the luxuries offered by the tycoon didn’t impress her and, after two months of resisting his advances, she returned to Italy and she refused to make films with him.

She was one of the few in Hollywood who resisted the whims of the billionaire. Not only that, but Lollobrigida has always fought against male harassment in film, telling the audience at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2016 that “women don’t have it easy because men are always trying to boss situations, even in art.”

Back in Europe, Lollobrigida starred in the romantic comedy “Pane, amore e fantasia” (1953), in which she shared the screen with Vittorio De Sica (director of “Bicycle Thieves”). Her role earned him a BAFTA nomination and a Silver Ribbon, beginning her recognition among international critics.

The film was a huge success and ended up producing a sequel, ‘Bread, Love and Jealousy’ which was released the following year. And in the sequence, she starred in the play that earned her one of her media definitions of her: “The most beautiful woman in the world.” She also became known as La Lollo.

So when Lollobrigida returned to Hollywood in 1956, it came to different terms. “At one point, I had in my contract, in addition to 10% of the gross, the approval of my co-star, the director and the script,” she told Vanity Fair.

His first major English-language role was “The Devil Laughed Last” (1953), shot by John Huston on location in Italy. But his arrival in the United States occurred only in “Trapeze” (1956), a film about the circus by Carol Reed. in which she played Lola, an artist involved in a love triangle with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. The film displayed a high degree of realism by having the actors perform most of their stunts. Lollobrigida had to train for six months on the trapeze at home to prepare.

She didn’t stay in Hollywood waiting to see if the film would be successful. He returned to Europe to star in one of the best-known productions of his career, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1956), in which he played the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, with whom the deformed hunchback Quasimodo, played by Anthony Quinn, falls madly in love .

From that moment he lives the jet set intensely, alternating between Hollywood, Cinecittà and even French and English cinema.

Working with great directors and actors, the actress has starred in “When the passions explode” (1959), directed by John Sturges, “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, by King Vidor, and “When September Comes” (1961) , directed by Roberto Mulligan.

Her beauty continued to be praised in titles such as ‘The Beauty of Hippolyta’ (1962) and ‘Imperial Venus’ (1962). Neither she lacked femme fatale roles, with emphasis on the title character in “Woman of Straw” (1964), in which she co-starred with Sean Connery.

She was also French director Jean Delannoy’s “Italian mistress” and formed a curious partnership with Rock Hudson in a pair of American romantic comedies, “When September Comes” and “Italian Love” (1965).

Several roles of a sexy and seductive woman, who reached their peak in “Nights of Love, Days of Confusion” (1968), an American comedy directed by Melvin Frank, in which she made three different men believe that she was the father of her daughter teenager. The plot inspired none other than the musical “Mamma Mia!” and earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Lollobrigida often played manipulative and sexually savvy women, taking advantage of their physical attributes. However, she was a talented actress, able to switch from drama to comedy with ease, which earned her several international awards.

After one last sexy role in 1972, in Jerzy Skolimowski’s risqué comedy “The King, Queen and…”, she began a big film hiatus, dedicating herself to television series and miniseries. He also appeared in five episodes of the American soap opera “Falcon Crest” in 1984, when he received another Golden Globe nomination.

The actress returned to the cinema only in 1995, with Agnes Varda’s “Come le cento e una notte”, and made only two more appearances, saying goodbye to the role of herself in the Italian comedy “Box Office 3D” in 2011.

Although he still appeared in a few films, he had already given up acting in the late 1980s, preferring to pursue photography, painting and sculpture.

Throughout her acting career, Lollobrigida never gave up on her dream of returning to the visual arts and made the most of her time on sets to learn photography. In the late 1960s, she was already considered a talented photojournalist and used her celebrity status to portray many other famous people, such as Paul Newman, Salvador Dali, Audrey Hepburn, Ella Fitzgerald and Henry Kissinger – a collection of her photos was published as a book in 1973, entitled “Italia Mia”.

The most interesting thing about her parallel career is that he gave her an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro in 1972. This meeting was recorded in the short film “Portrait of Fidel”, which she wrote, produced and directed.

The star also held several art and photography exhibitions in Europe and in 1992 her work was commended with the Legion of Honor medal as France’s “artiste de valeur”.

She was also a staunch humanitarian and activist who, in 2013, sold her diamond and jewelry collection and donated $4.9 million to stem cell research. Enthusiastic about championing various causes, she even ran for a seat in the European Parliament in 1999, but she lost.

In her later years, however, she was plagued by scandals involving her affairs with younger men and by her son’s attempts to become her legal trustee.

The actress accused ex-boyfriend Javier Rigau y Rafols, 34 years her junior, of fraud after claiming they were legally married. Her son’s concerns about the undue influence of younger men in his life led him to seek legal intervention, but his request was denied in July 2014.

At the time, Lollobrigida saw his son’s lawsuit as treason and an attempt to take control of his $50 million fortune.

La Lollo’s death ended up burying several controversies, even with her greatest rival in cinema, Sofia Loren, with whom she contested the title of queen of Cinnecità. “I am very shocked and deeply saddened,” Loren said of Lollobrigida’s passing, adding that she was speechless and “incredulous” about her.

In fact, they hated each other.

Gina even commented, on one occasion, that the alleged rivalry had been fabricated by Sophia Loren’s aides to boost her career and that there had never been any possible confrontation between the two.

“I was successful only thanks to myself, without the help of any producer. I did everything by myself,” she underlined, referring to the fact that Loren was married to a film producer, the Italian Carlo Ponti. “There was never a rivalry with anyone. I was number 1”, she added, provocative as always in her life.

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Source: Terra

Larkin

Amanda Larkin is a celebrity journalist at Gossipify, known for her in-depth interviews and unique perspectives on the entertainment industry. She covers celebrity news and gossip, providing readers with engaging and informative content, and understanding of the inner workings of the industry. She’s respected for keeping readers up to date with the latest trends and providing a fresh perspective on the celebrity world.