Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida dies
Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian actress known as the sex symbol of European cinema and a 1960s fashion icon, died. This was reported by the news agency ANSA.
The actress died at the age of 95. The cause of her death is unknown.
A few months before her death, the actress broke her hip.
After collapsing in her own home, Lollobrigida ended up in a hospital in Rome in September 2022.She was diagnosed with a displaced hip fracture that required an operation that lasted just over an hour. Then the doctors said that it was not known when the actress would be able to move independently but noted that her condition did not cause any concern. Despite her age and heart problems, Lollobrigida survived the operation well.
Lollobrigida ran for the Italian parliament in 2022.
In mid-August last year, it became known that the artist had decided to run for the Italian parliament. The 95-year-old celebrity announced her candidature for the political entity Sovereign and People’s Italy. At the same time, she was off the list and hoped to overcome the 3 percent barrier that exists to enter the body. Lollobrigida’s nomination was promoted by lawyer and former prosecutor Antonio Ingroia.
According to ANSA, the actress ultimately failed and received only 1 percent of the vote in the Lazio constituency. This is not the first such case since the actress was nominated for elections to the European Parliament in 1999. Then she managed to collect only 10 thousand votes, and therefore she did not go to the legislature.
At the same time, politics was not Lollobrigida’s only interest. In addition to film, she has also been involved in photography and philanthropy, collaborating with UNESCO and UNICEF.
The last years of the actress’s life were overshadowed by litigation.
In recent years, Lollobrigida has been in the media, not so much because of her contribution to cinema as because of high-profile legal scandals. As a result, in 2021, the actress sued her son Milko Skofic in order to gain independent control of her property, which was worth approximately 40 million euros. Skofich, in turn, accused his mother’s assistant, Andrea Piazzolla, of cheating. In his opinion, he profited from the star for many years. Against this background, the son of Lollobrigida achieved a court decision, according to which she can use her money only for everyday expenses. The actress called what is happening a humiliation. “At my age, I should have peace, but I don’t have it yet.” “I have the right to live and die in peace,” she said in an interview.
In 2016, Gina also sued businessman Javier Rigo Rafols. She claimed that he fraudulently registered their marriage in Barcelona in order to gain access to her fortune.
Gina Lollobrigida was considered a legend of Italian cinema.
Lolobrigida began acting in films at the age of 20. Then she appeared in episodic roles in films such as Love Potion, The Crime of Giovanni Episcopo, Pagliacci, and Mad About Opera. In 1947, she received third place in the Miss Italy contest, and five years later, she starred in one of her main films—she got the role of Adeline Lafranchises in the film Fanfan Tulip. Thanks to the success of the film, which received prizes at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, Gina Lollobrigida was noticed in Hollywood. Her first American film was Shame on the Devil, with Humphrey Bogart as her partner. This work was followed by Never So Few with Frank Sinatra, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba with Yul Brynner, and Come September with Rock Hudson.
By that time, in her native Italy, Lollobrigida had become one of the most popular actresses. She starred in such European films as “Night,” “Provincial,” and “Bread, Love, and Fantasy.” In 1956, Jean Delannoy invited Lollobrigida to play the lead role in the film based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Notre Dame Cathedral; subsequently, her screen embodiment of the image of Esmeralda was repeatedly called the best. Among her other notable roles are “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World,” “Stormy Sea,” “Imperial Venus,” and “King, Queen, and Jack.”
Gina Lollobrigida is an officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, as well as a chevalier of the Legion of Honor and an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 1995, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival presented her with an award for her outstanding contribution to world cinema.