Virna Lisi

Non ho mai voluto fare la svampita, mi sono rifiutata di essere la Marilyn Monroe versione mediterranea.
Virna Lisi

La bellezza non muore mai...
Tiziano Riverso

di Gianluca Costantini

Virna Lisi, born Virna Lisa Pieralisi, (November 8, 1936 – December 18, 2014) was a Cannes, David di Donatello, Silver Ribbon and César award-winning Italian film actress.

She began her film career in her teens. Discovered in Paris by two Neapolitan producers, Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce, she debuted in La corda d’acciaio (The line of steel, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like E Napoli canta (Napoli sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (1954, with the popular Totò). Nonetheless, her beauty was more valued than her talent, as seen in Le diciottenni and Lo scapolo films of 1955. Yet she filled demanding roles, particularly in La Donna del Giorno (1956), Eva (1962), and the spectacle Romolo e Remo (1961).

In the late 1950s, Lisi did theater at Piccolo Teatro di Milano in I giacobini by Federico Zardi under the direction of Giorgio Strehler. During the 1960s, Lisi did comedies and participated in television dramas that were widely viewed in Italy. Lisi also promoted a toothpaste brand on television with a slogan that would become a catchphrase among Italians: “con quella bocca può dire ciò che vuole” (with such a mouth, she can say whatever she wants). Continue