Virna Lisi (Jesi, Marche, Italy, November 8, 1936 – Rome, Italy, December 18, 2014)
Virna Lisa Pieralisi is the Italian film and theatre actress and one of the most famous Italian starts of the 1960’s. In early 1950’s she moved to Rome with her family and had plans to study at an university. However, her plans were changed by the world of film. Singer and Lisi’s family friend Giacomo Rondinella persuaded the producer of the film he was currently filming to accept Virna to an audition. She passed it and made her debut on film at the age of seventeen in ...e Napoli canta! (1953). Afterwards she starred in smaller roles in several films a year, at first thanks to her beauty but soon she started to get some more serious roles. Her first leading role was in the drama La donna del giorno (1957) by Francesco Maselli. At that time she also acted in theatre. Her next roles on film were in the historical drama Romolo e Remo (1961) by Sergio Corbucci, and then with Jeanne Moreau in the drama Eva (1962) by Joseph Losey. Her next role was in the French-Italian production crime drama Les bonnes causes (1963) by Christian-Jaque, and afterwards with Alain Delon in The Black Tulip (La tulipe noire, 1964) by the same director. With the latter film she attracted the attention of the international audience and went to Hollywood where she signed a contract with the Paramount studios in 1965. In her first role in the US she starred as a sort of a replacement for Marilyn Monroe opposite Jack Lemmon in the film How to Murder Your Wife (1965) by director Richard Quine. Afterwards she acted opposite Tony Curtis in Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) by Norman Panama and then Frank Sinatra in Assault on a Queen (1966) by Jack Donohue. However, she soon got tired of American roles of dumb blondes and decided to terminate her contract with Paramount, thus paying a hefty fine. She turned down the leading role in Roger Vadim’s Barbarella (accepted by Jane Fonda). She returned to Europe forever and sought more complex roles. In the second half of the 1960’s she had some memorable roles in films such as Casanova'70 (1965) by Mario Monicelli and starring Marcello Mastroianni, and comedies Signore & signori (1966) by director Pietro Germi and Arabella (1967) by Mauro Bolognini. She also starred with Anthonyj Quinn and Anna Magnani in the historical drama The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) by Stanley Kramer that was shot in Italy. During the 1970’s she slowed down her career on film. From that time her most notable roles were those in the thriller Bluebeard (1972) by Edward Dmytryk and Luciano Sacripanti and as Friedrich Nietzsche’s sister in the biographical drama Al di lŕ del bene e del male (1977) by Liliana Cavani for which she won the Golden Cup and the Silver Cord awards as Best Supporting Actress from the Italian National Association of Film Journalists in 1978. During the 1980’s she starred in dramas Cicala (La Cicala, 1979) by Alberto Lattuada (for which she won the Italian film awards David and Golden Cup as Best Actress in 1980) and Buon Natale... Buon anno (1989) by Luigi Comencini. At that same time, she began to act in TV films and series. She made her big comeback to the big screen with the role of Catherine of Medici in the historical drama Queen Margot (La reine Margot, 1994) by Patrice Chéreau for which she received the award as Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and the César as Best Supporting Actress. Afterwards, she mostly acted on TV, and the only exceptions were collaborations with the director Cristina Comencini on the romantic drama Va' dove ti porta il cuore (1996) for which she won the Italian Golden Globe as Best Actress, on the drama Il piů bel giorno della mia vita (2002) and on her last film Latin Lover (2015), which is currently in post-production. In 2000, she received the Italian Golden Cup for life-time achievement as well as the Golden Globe in 2004 and the David in 2009. She passed away due to cancer at the age of seventy eight.
Filmography:
Latin Lover (2015) (postproduction)
Madre, aiutami. (2014) (mini TV series, 4 nastavka)
Baciamo le mani: Palermo-New York 1958 (2013) (TV series, 4 episodes)
La donna che ritorna (2011) (mini TV series, 4 episodes)
Caterina e le sue figlie (2005-2010) (TV series, 18 episodes)
Il sangue e la rosa (2008) (TV series, 4 episodes)
Fidati di me (2008) (mini TV series)
Donne sbagliate (2007) (TV)
L'onore e il rispetto (2006) (TV series, 1 episode)
A casa di Anna (2004) (TV)
I ragazzi della via Pál (2003) (TV)
Il bello delle donne (2001-2003) (TV series, 15 episodes)
Il piů bel giorno della mia vita (2002)
La memoria e il perdono (2001) (TV)
Occhi verde veleno (2001) (TV)
Piccolo mondo antico (2001) (TV)
Le ali della vita 2 (2001) (TV)
Un dono semplice (2000) (TV)
Le ali della vita (2000) (TV)
Cristallo di rocca - Una storia di Natale (1999) (TV)
Balzac (1999) (TV)
Il deserto di fuoco (1997) (mini TV series, 3 episodes)
Uno di noi (1996) (mini TV series)
Va' dove ti porta il cuore (1996)
La reine Margot (1994)
Passioni (1993) (TV series)
I misteri della giungla nera (1991) (mini TV series, 3 episodes)
Buon Natale... Buon anno (1989)
E se poi se ne vanno? (1989) (TV)
Cinema (1989) (TV)
I ragazzi di via Panisperna (1988)
E non se ne vogliono andare! (1988) (TV)
I Love N.Y. (1987)
Se un giorno busserai alla mia porta (1986) (mini TV series)
Affari di famiglia (1986) (TV)
Christopher Columbus (1985) (mini TV series, 1 episode)
Amarsi un po'... (1984)
...e la vita continua (1984) (mini TV series)
Sapore di mare (1983)
Miss Right (1982)
La cicala (1980)
Bugie bianche (1979)
Ernesto (1979)
Al di lŕ del bene e del male (1977)
Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca (1974)
Philo Vance (1974) (TV series, 2 episodes)
Zanna Bianca (1973)
Le serpent (1973)
Bluebeard (1972)
Les galets d'Étretat (1972)
Roma bene (1971)
Un beau monstre (1971)
The Statue (1971)
Giochi particolari (1970)
Le temps des loups (1970)
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
L'arbre de Noël (1969)
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Meglio vedova (1968)
Tenderly (1968)
Le dolci signore (1968)
Arabella (1967)
La ragazza e il generale (1967)
La vingt-cinquičme heure (1967)
Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966)
Assault on a Queen (1966)
Una vergine per il principe (1966)
Signore & signori (1966)
Oggi, domani, dopodomani (1965)
Made in Italy (1965) (3rd part - La Donna, 1st episode)
La donna del lago (1965)
Casanova'70 (1965)
Le bambole (1965)
How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Coplan prend des risques (1964)
The Black Tulip (La tulipe noire, 1964)
Les bonnes causes (1963)
Il giorno piů corto (1963)
Una tragedia americana (1962) (TV series, 5 episodes)
Eva (1962)
Romolo e Remo (1961)
5 marines per 100 ragazze (1961)
Il caso Maurizius (1961) (mini TV series)
Sua Eccellenza si fermň a mangiare (1961)
Cenerentola (1960) (TV)
Cieli alti (1960) (TV)
Un militare e mezzo (1960)
Ottocento (1959-1960) (TV series, 4 episodes)
I masnadieri (1959) (TV)
Caterina Sforza, la leonessa di Romagna (1959)
Il mondo dei miracoli (1959)
Il padrone delle ferriere (1959)
Vite perdute (1959)
Leocadia (1958) (TV)
Il conte di Matera (Il tiranno) (1958)
La cara ombra (1958) (TV)
Orgoglio e pregiudizio (1957) (TV series, 5 episodes)
La donna del giorno (1957)
Le diciottenni (1956)
Vendicata! (1956)
Lo scapolo (1955) (uncredited)
Les hussards (1955)
La rossa (1955)
Ripudiata (1955)
Luna nova (1955)
Addio Napoli! (1955)
Il vetturale del Moncenisio (1954)
Il cardinale Lambertini (1954)
Piccola santa (1954)
La corda d'acciaio (1954)
Lettera napoletana (1954)
Violenza sul lago (1954)
Desiderio'e sole (1954)
...e Napoli canta! (1953)