Gina Lollobrigida

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Gina Lollobrigida
Born	Luigina Lollobrigida 4 July 1927 (1927-07-04) (age 84) Subiaco, Italy
Occupation	Actress, photojournalist, sculptress
Years active	1946–1997
Spouse	Mirko Skofic (1949–1971) (divorced) 1 child

Gina Lollobrigida (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒiːna lɔlloˈbriːdʒida]; born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptress. She was one of the most popular European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was also an iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. Today, she remains an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2008, she received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala.

Youth

Born Luigina Lollobrigida in Subiaco, Italy, she was one of four daughters of a furniture manufacturer (her sisters are Giuliana, Maria and Fernanda). She spent her youth in a picturesque mountain village. In her youth, Gina did some modelling, and from there she went to participate successfully in several beauty contests. At around this time, she began appearing in Italian language films. In 1945, she played a part in the comedy Santarellina by Eduardo Scarpetta at the Teatro della Concordia of Monte Castello di Vibio, the smallest theatre all'italiana in the world.^[1] In 1947, Gina entered the Miss Italia pageant and came in 3rd place. The contest was won by Lucia Bosé and second place was Gianna Maria Canale – they would both go on to be actresses, though neither would come near Lollobrigida's success.

Career

Films

In 1950 Howard Hughes invited Lollobrigida to make Hollywood films, but she refused, preferring to work in Europe. Despite this, her appearance in Italian films like Bread, Love and Dreams (for which she received a BAFTA nomination and won a Nastro d'Argento award) and Woman of Rome, and in French films like Fanfan la Tulipe and Beauties of the Night, brought her to the attention of Hollywood. She made her first American film, Beat the Devil, in 1953 with Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones, directed by John Huston.

In 1955 Lollobrigida appeared in The World's Most Beautiful Woman, for which she received the first David di Donatello for Best Actress award. She appeared in the circus drama Trapeze directed by Carol Reed with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in 1956 and starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame directed by Jean Delannoy with Anthony Quinn the same year. In 1959 she co-starred with Frank Sinatra in Never So Few and with Yul Brynner in Solomon and Sheba. The latter was notable for having Brynner replace Tyrone Power, who died during filming; for being the last film directed by King Vidor; and for an orgy scene unusual in Hollywood motion pictures of that era.

Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba

In 1961 she appeared in the romantic comedy Come September, with Rock Hudson, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin, for which she won a Golden Globe award. The same year she appeared alongside Ernest Borgnine and Anthony Franciosa in the drama Go Naked in the World. In 1962 she was directed again by Jean Delannoy in Venere Imperiale and received a Nastro d'Argento and a David di Donatello award. In 1964 she co-starred with Sean Connery in the thriller Woman of Straw. She co-starred with Rock Hudson again in 1965's Strange Bedfellows and appeared alongside Alec Guinness in 1966's Hotel Paradiso. In 1968 she starred in Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell with Shelley Winters, Phil Silvers, and Telly Savalas, the plot of which is the basis for the stage musical Mamma Mia! For this role she was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a third David di Donatello award. Lollobrigida co-starred with Bob Hope in the comedy The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell and also accompanied Hope on his visits to military troops overseas.

Gina Lollobrigida in 1991 at Cannes Film Festival

By the 1970s her film career had slowed down. She appeared in only a few poorly received productions in the early part of the decade. In the mid 1980s, she starred in the television series Falcon Crest as Francesca Gioberti, a role originally written for Sophia Loren, who turned it down. For that role she received a third Golden Globe nomination. She also had a supporting role in the 1985 TV mini series Deceptions, co-starring with Stephanie Powers. In 1986, she was the head of the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, which awarded the Golden Bear to Reinhard Hauff's film Stammheim, although she distanced herself publicly from the decision, claiming the decision had been made for political reasons.^[2]

In the 1990s she made a few minor French film appearances and continued to visit international film festivals.

Photojournalism

By the end of the 1970s she had embarked on what turned out to be a successful career as a photographic journalist. She photographed, among others, Paul Newman, Salvador Dalí, Henry Kissinger, David Cassidy, Audrey Hepburn, Ella Fitzgerald and the German national football team and scooped the world's press by obtaining an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro. In 1973 a collection of her work was published, Italia Mia.

Other interests

She has focused on other interests such as sculpting and it was 1984 before she returned to American television screens with a part in Falcon Crest. She showed her sculptures in Italy, France, Spain, Russia, United States, Qatar. She was also a corporate executive for fashion and cosmetics companies.

Political activism

In 1999 she ran unsuccessfully for one of Italy's 87 seats in the elections for European Parliament with the center-left party The Democrats.

Personal life

In 1949 she married a Slovenian physician, Mirko Skofic. They had one child, Mirko Skofic, Jr., born in August 1957.^[3] They were divorced in 1971. Skofic gave up the practice of medicine to become her manager.^[4]

In 1969 she was engaged for a short time to George Kaufman, a New York real estate heir. In the 1960s she also had an affair with heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard.^[5]

In October 2006, at age 79, she announced to Spain's ¡Hola! magazine her engagement to a 45-year-old Spanish businessman, Javier Rigau y Rafols, whom she met at a party in Monte Carlo in 1984 and who had been her companion since then.^[6] The engagement was called off on 6 December 2006, reportedly as a result of media pressure.^[7]

Now retired, Lollobrigida has not made a film since 1997. She told PARADE in April 2000:

She is of the Roman Catholic faith.

Awards and nominations

Lollobrigida has won 6 David di Donatello, 2 Nastro d'Argento, and 6 Bambi Awards; she was nominated three times for the Golden Globe and won one in 1961 as World Film Favourite - Female; she was nominated once for a Bafta.

In 1985 she was nominated as an officier of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Jack Lang because of her achievements in sculpture and in photography.

In 1992 she was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by François Mitterrand.

On 16 October 1999, Gina Lollobrigida was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).^[8]

Books by Gina Lollobrigida

• Italia mia, 1973, a collection of photographs across Italy.
• Wonder of Innocence, 1994, a book of photographs.
• Sculptures, 2003.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gina Lollobrigida

• Gina Lollobrigida at the Internet Movie Database
• The Gina Lollobrigida Page extensive links
• The Gina Lollobrigida Fanpage
• Photographs and literature