An Italian actress, Gina who was one of the biggest stars in European cinema throughout the 1950s and 1960s, passed away at the age of 95.
According to Italian news agency Lapresse, Lollobrigida died in a clinic in Rome. No cause of death has been cited. In September she had surgery to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall, but she recovered and competed for a Senate seat in Italy’s elections held last year in September, though she did not win.
Her roles in Beat the Devil, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Crossed Swords earned her the moniker “the most beautiful lady in the world.”
She appeared in films with actors such as Errol Flynn, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, and Humphrey Bogart.
After resisting Howard Hughes’ offer to make movies in Hollywood in 1950, Lollobrigida starred with Gerard Philipe in the 1952 French swashbuckler “Fanfan la Tulipe,” a fest winner and popular favorite.
Her first American movie, shot in Italy, was John Huston’s 1953 film noir spoof “Beat the Devil,” in which she starred with Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones. The same year she starred with Vittorio De Sica in Luigi Comencini’s “Bread, Love and Dreams,” for which she won a BAFTA for best actress in a foreign film.
Lollobrigida starred Robert Z. Leonard’s Italian-language “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World” (aka “Beautiful but Dangerous”), for which she received the best actress award at the inaugural David di Donatello Awards in 1956.
She had quite a remarkable career.
She is survived by a son.
