Giulietta Masina
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Giulietta Masina (22 February 1921 - 23 March 1994) was an acclaimed Italian motion-picture actress, and the wife of film director Federico Fellini.
[edit] Biography
Born Giulia Anna Masina in San Giorgio di Piano, Masina initially studied literature but later turned to acting; while attending the university in Rome, she joined a drama ensemble and later signed on with the Ateneo Theatre Group.
By 1943 Masina was gaining notice as a radio actress and had been cast as "Pallina" in Cico e Pallina, a radio serial about a young married couple written by Fellini. Soon after, on October 30, 1943, she and Fellini were married. Her first screen credit was the 1948 movie Without Pity, opposite John Kitzmiller. She went on landing roles in a number of memorable films, and in 1957, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her unforgettable portrayal of Cabiria, a prostitute who endures life’s tragedies with a heartbreaking innocence and resilience.
Her death from cancer, at the age of 73, occurred just months after her husband's death. They are buried together at Rimini cemetery, the Fellini's tomb which is marked by a sail-shaped monument, the work of sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.
[edit] Filmography
- Without Pity (1948)
- Behind Closed Shutters (1950)
- Variety Lights (1950)
- The Shameless Sex (1952)
- The White Sheik (1952)
- La strada (1954)
- Il bidone (The Swindlers, 1955)
- Nights of Cabiria (1957)
- Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
- Ginger and Fred (1986)
- A Day to Remember (1991)
