Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigida passed away at 95 years old

Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida passed away in Rome on Monday at the age of 95. She achieved international fame during the 1950s and was dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world" after one of her movies. The cause of death was not provided by her agent, Paola Comin. Lollobrigida had surgery in September to fix a broken thigh bone from a fall and resumed walking shortly after. A portrait of her graced the cover of Time magazine in 1954, with the magazine referring to her as a "goddess" in an article about Italian cinema.

Despite her advanced age, Lollobrigida still drew attention for her beauty and preferred to be referred to as an actress rather than the gender-neutral term actor. "Lollo," a nickname affectionately given to her by Italians, began her film career in Italy after the end of World War II. The country was promoting a stereotypical image of Mediterranean beauty on the big screen, which was typically buxom and brunette. Some of her notable films include "The World's Most Beautiful Woman" in 1955, Golden Globe winner "Come September" with Rock Hudson, "Trapeze", "Ump the Devil" a 1953 film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones, and "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell". This movie earned the actress Italy's top movie award for best actress in 1969!

In Italy, she worked with some of the country's top directors such as Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Pietro Germi, and Vittorio De Sica. Two of her more successful films in Italy were "Pane Amore e Fantasia" and its sequel "Pane Amore e Gelosia" - both directed by Luigi Comencini in 1953 and 1954 respectively. Her male lead in both films was Vittorio Gassman, one of Italy's leading actors. But did you know that Lollobrigida was also a talented sculptor, painter, and photographer? She eventually moved away from film to focus on these other arts! She traveled the world with her camera, capturing images from places such as the Soviet Union and Australia. What’s more, in 1974, Fidel Castro invited her as a guest to Cuba for 12 days while she worked on a photo reportage.

The actress was born on July 4, 1927, in Subiaco, a small town near Rome where her father worked as a furniture maker. She started her career by participating in beauty contests and posing for magazine covers, as well as making small appearances in films. She was discovered by producer Mario Costa and brought to the big screen. Howard Hughes eventually brought her to the United States, where she worked with some of Hollywood's leading actors of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Yul Brynner.

Over the years, Lollobrigida's co-stars also included some of Europe's most popular male actors of the era such as Louis Jourdan, Fernando Rey, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Alec Guinness. Despite playing some dramatic roles, her sex symbol image defined her career, and her most popular characters were in lighthearted comedies. With her lush eyelashes and thick, brown curls, Lollobrigida started a hairstyle trend in the 1950s known as the "poodle cut." Gossip columnists often commented on alleged rivalries between her and Sophia Loren, another Italian film star celebrated for her beauty.

Lollobrigida's first marriage to Milko Skofic, a doctor from Yugoslavia, ended in divorce in 1971. In the later years of her life, her name was more frequently mentioned in articles by journalists covering court cases in Rome, rather than the glamour scene, as legal battles were fought over her mental competency to manage her finances On her website, Lollobrigida remembered how her family lost their house during the bombings of World War II and moved to Rome. She studied sculpture and painting at a high school for the arts, while her two sisters worked as movie theater ushers to support her studies.