Maria Maddalena Fellini (7 October 1929 – 21 May 2004) was an Italian actress and writer. She was also well known for being the sister of

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

. Her other brother was the actor and television director

Riccardo Fellini Riccardo Fellini ( 21 February 1921 - 26 March 1991) was an Italian film actor.Mitchell p.200 He also worked as a director on documentaries for RAI. He was the brother of the director Federico Fellini and starred in his 1953 film ''I Vitelloni''. ...

Life and career

Born in Rimini, at an early age Fellini started acting into amateur dramatics, and at 19 years old she was planning to enroll the

Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico (translation: Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts) is a national drama school in Rome, Italy. Founded in 1936 by the theatrical theorist, critic, and writer Silvio D'Amico, the a ...

in Rome, before being dissuaded by her family and eventually renouncing to her aspirations following her 1953 marriage with a doctor. In 1987, she was the leading actress in a dialectal play, ''Stal mami'' by Liliano Faenza, which got her unexpected attention and critical praises. In 1990 she made her film debut in the Marco Tullio Giordana's segment of the anthology film ''

Especially on Sunday ''La domenica specialmente'' (internationally released as ''Especially on Sunday'') is a 1991 Italian comedy-drama film. It consists of four segments, all written by Tonino Guerra. Each segment has a different director: Giuseppe Tornatore, Marco ...

'', getting critical acclaim for her role of a lonely mother spying on the intimate moments of her son and his wife. Fellini was also an occasional writer, being the author of a humorous autobiography (''Storie di una casalinga straripata'', 1992) and of a cookbook filled with autobiographical anecdotes (''A tavola con Federico Fellini'', 2003). In 1995, she created an association with the aim to honor her brother

through a series of initiatives, The Fellini Foundation, of whom she was honorary president until her death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellini, Maddalena 1929 births 2004 deaths People from Rimini Italian women writers Italian film actresses Italian stage actresses Italian television actresses Maddalena