Roma — Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, who rose to international film stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her films, died Monday in Rome, her agent said. She was 95 years old.
The agent, Paola Comin, did not provide details of his death, but Lollobrigida underwent surgery in September to repair a femur that broke in a fall.
A drawn portrait of the diva appeared on the magazine’s 1954 cover Time, who in an article about Italian cinema compared her to a “goddess”. More than half a century later, Lollobrigida continued to command her attention with her curly reddish hair and her statuesque figure.
“Lollo,” as Italians affectionately nicknamed her, began making films in Italy just after the end of World War II, when the country began promoting a stereotypical concept of Mediterranean beauty on the big screen.
In addition to The most beautiful woman in the world in 1955, career highlights included the Golden Globe-winning, Come Septembercon Rock Hudson; Trapeze – Beat the Devil, a 1953 John Huston film starring Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones; Y Good Evening, Mrs. Campbellwhich won Lollobrigida Italia’s main film award, a David di Donatello, for best actress in 1969.
In Italy, he worked with some of the country’s leading conductors after the war, including Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Pietro Germi, and Vittorio De Sica.
Two of his most popular home movies were Pane Amore Fantasia (Bread Love Fantasy) by Comencini in 1953, and the sequel a year later, Pane Amore Gelosia (Bread Love Jealousy). In each of them, her male counterpart was Vittorio Gassman, one of Italy’s most prominent men on the screen.
Lollobrigida began her career in beauty pageants, posing for magazine covers and cameo appearances in minor films. But her sexy image of hers quickly propelled her to roles in major Italian and international films.
Although Lollobrigida did play some dramatic roles, her characters were most popular in lighthearted comedies, such as the “Bread Love” movies.
Lollobrigida was also an accomplished sculptor, painter, and photographer, eventually essentially abandoning film for fine art. With her camera, she traveled the world from what was then the Soviet Union to Australia.
In 1974, Fidel Castro hosted her as a guest in Cuba for 12 days while he was working on a photo report.
He was born on July 4, 1927 in Subiaco, a picturesque mountain town near Rome, where his father was a cabinetmaker.
