Rosanna Schiaffino (25 November 1939 – 17 October 2009) was an Italian film actress. She appeared on the covers of Italian, German, French, British and American magazines.

Early life

She was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

to a well-off family. Her mother encouraged her showbusiness ambitions, helping her to study privately at a drama school. She also took part in beauty contests. When she was 14 she won the Miss

beauty contest, moving into modelling jobs, with photographs in important magazines, including ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''.Rosanna Schiaffino obituary
The Guardian, 17 November 2009

Film career

She began a promising acting career in the post- neorealist cinema of the 1950s. She was noticed by film producer

Franco Cristaldi Franco Cristaldi (3 October 1924 – 1 July 1992) was an Italian film producer, credited with producing (or co-producing) feature films from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career In 1946 Cristaldi founded ''Vides Cinematografica'' in Turin. This product ...

, who paired her with Marcello Mastroianni in ''

Piece of the Sky ''Piece of the Sky'' ( it, Un ettaro di cielo) is a 1959 Italian comedy film directed by Aglauco Casadio. Plot Severino Balestra, a peddler who goes around the various village festivals of the Po delta selling trinkets, returns to Migliarino ...

'' in 1959. More important was her second film for him, ''

La sfida ''La sfida'' ("the challenge") is a 1958 Italian film by Francesco Rosi. It stars José Suárez as a gang leader who challenges a local Camorra boss for supremacy. It won the Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film is based on the real-l ...

(The Challenge)'', directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

, where she made a name for her powerful but sensitive performance as a

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

girl, inspired by the real-life character of Pupetta Maresca. The film was well received at the 1958

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

. Schiaffino was launched as the "Italian

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...

". However, she would have been more appropriately introduced as the new Italian sex goddess after

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

and

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

, but in the early 1960s that role was passing to

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

. She married producer

Alfredo Bini Alfredo Bini (12 December 1926 – 16 October 2010) was an Italian film producer. He produced 32 films between 1958 and 1979. He was born in Livorno, Italy. Selected filmography * ''The Law Is the Law'' (1958) * '' Il bell'Antonio'' (1960) ...

in 1966. After several more films, none of them particularly notable, she decided to give up acting. In 1976, she divorced Bini, with whom she had a daughter.People
Time Magazine, October 14, 1966

Jet set

Schiaffino began a new life with the

jet set In journalism, jet set is a term for an international social group of wealthy people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society", came from the lifestyle of tra ...

. During the summer of 1980, in

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

, she met the handsome playboy and steel industry heir Giorgio Enrico Falck, who had also just divorced. Their affair was big news for the gossip tabloids. In 1981 she gave birth to their son, Guido, and in 1982 she married Falck. The marriage and its gradual decline after she had been diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in 1991, and the later divorce, led to unpleasant recriminations over the custody of their son and the inheritance, before they came to an agreement prior to Falck’s demise in 2004.

Death

Rosanna Schiaffino died of cancer on 17 October 2009, aged 69.

Filmography

*'' Totò, lascia o raddoppia?'' (1956) - Colomba *''

Roland the Mighty ''Roland the Mighty'' ( it, Orlando e i Paladini di Francia) is a 1956 Italian film directed by Pietro Francisci. about the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, where Roland, a knight in the service of Charlemagne was killed while defending the re ...

'' (1956) - Angelica / Angélique *''

'' (1958) - Marina *''

'' (1958) - Assunta *''

Dubrowsky ''Dubrowsky'' ( it, Il vendicatore) is a 1959 Italian - Yugoslav historical drama film directed by William Dieterle. It is based on the posthumously published 1841 novel '' Dubrovsky'' by Alexander Pushkin. Plot Russia in 1831: two families, ...

'' (1959) - Masha Petrovieh *''

Bad Girls Don't Cry ''La notte brava'' (internationally released as ''Bad Girls Don't Cry'', ''The Big Night'', ''Night Heat'', and ''On Any Street'') is a 1959 Italian drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini. The film represents the debut of Tomas Milian in the Ita ...

'' (1959) - Rossana *''

Ferdinando I, re di Napoli ''Ferdinando I, re di Napoli'' is a 1959 Italian comedy film directed by Gianni Franciolini. Plot Naples, 1806. The king Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies is frowned upon by the people, especially the comic theatrical Pulcinella, which continuall ...

'' (1959) - Nannina *'' Le bal des espions'' (1960) - Flora *''

Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete ''Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete'' ( it, Teseo contro il Minotauro, lit=Theseus against the Minotaur) is a 1960 film based on the Greek legend of Theseus, the Athenian hero who is said to have slain a minotaur on Minoan Crete around 1500 or 14 ...

'' (1960) - Princess Phaedra / Arianna *'' La Fayette'' (1961) - Comtesse de Simiane *''

L'onorata società ''L'onorata società'' is a 1961 Italian comedy film written and directed by Riccardo Pazzaglia. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. Cast * Franco Franchi as Salvatore * C ...

'' (1961) - Rosaria, the wife *'' Le miracle des loups'' (1961) - Jeanne de Beauvais *'' Romulus and the Sabines'' (1961) - Venere / Venus *''

The Italian Brigands ''I briganti italiani'' (internationally released as ''The Italian Brigands'' and ''Seduction of the South'') is a 1962 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Mario Camerini. It was shot in Cerreto Sannita.''Una passeggiata nella storia'', Di Lauro ...

'' (1962) - Mariantonia *''

Le Crime ne paie pas ''Le Crime ne paie pas'' (US title: ''Crime Does Not Pay'', UK title: ''Gentle Art of Murder'') is a 1962 French drama portmanteau film directed and partly written by Gérard Oury. It consists of four separate episodes, each with its own cast and ...

'' (1962) - Francesca Sabelli (segment "Le masque") *''

Two Weeks in Another Town ''Two Weeks in Another Town'' is a 1962 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Kirk Douglas and Edward G. Robinson. The supporting players include Cyd Charisse, Claire Trevor, Daliah Lavi, George Hamilton, and Rosanna S ...

'' (1962) - Barzelli * ''

Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele ''Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele'' (german: Axel Munthe – Der Arzt von San Michele) is a 1962 biographical drama film directed by Giorgio Capitani, Rudolf Jugert and Georg Marischka. It stars O.W. Fischer in the title role along with Ro ...

'' (1962) - Antonia *'' Ro.Go.Pa.G.'' (1963) - Anna Maria (segment "Illibatezza") *''

The Victors "The Victors" is the fight song of the University of Michigan. Michigan student Louis Elbel wrote the song in 1898 after the football team's victory over the University of Chicago, which clinched an undefeated season and the Western Conferen ...

'' (1963)Cinema: Up in Arms for Peace
Time Magazine, 20 December 1963 - Maria *''

La corruzione ''Corruption'' ( it, La corruzione) is a 1963 Italian drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini. Plot A young man upon finishing college announces to his publisher father that he wants to become a priest. The father who wants his son to take over ...

'' (1963) - Adriana *''

The Long Ships ''The Long Ships'' or ''Red Orm'' (original Swedish: ''Röde Orm'' meaning ''Red Serpent'' or ''Red Snake'') is an adventure novel by the Swedish writer Frans G. Bengtsson. The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the advent ...

'' (1964)Cinema: A Thing of Booty
Time Magazine, 12 June 1964 - Aminah *''

The Cavern The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely asso ...

'' (1964) - Anna *'' Red Dragon'' (1965) - Carol *''

The Mandrake ''The Mandrake'' (Italian: ''La Mandragola'' ) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likel ...

''(1965)Cinema: Virtue Besieged
Time Magazine, 3 June 1966 - Lucrezia *'' El Greco'' (1966)Cinema: The Brush-Off
Time Magazine, 4 November 1966 - Jeronima de las Cuevas *''

La strega in amore ''La strega in amore'' (also known as ''The Witch'', ''The Witch in Love'' and ''Strange Obsession'') is a 1966 Italian drama- horror film directed by Damiano Damiani. It is based on the novel ''Aura'' by Carlos Fuentes. Cast * Richard Johnso ...

'' (1966) - Aura *''

Drop Dead Darling ''Drop Dead Darling'' (US title: ''Arrivederci, Baby!'') is a 1966 British-American black comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Tony Curtis, Rosanna Schiaffino, Lionel Jeffries and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Plot A man goes around marrying wealth ...

'' (1966) - Francesca di Rienzi *'' The Rover'' (1967) - Arlette *'' Encrucijada para una monja'' (1967) - Sister Maria *''

Simon Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

'' (1969) - Consuelo Hernandez *'' Check to the Queen'' (1969) - Margaret Mevin *'' 7 fois... par jour'' (1971) - Eva *'' Trastevere'' (1971) - Caterina Peretti *'' In Love, Every Pleasure Has Its Pain'' (1971) - Betìa *''

Ettore lo fusto ''Hector the Mighty'' ( it, Ettore lo fusto) is a List of Italian films of 1972, 1972 Cinema of Italy, Italian comedy film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. A parody of Homer's ''Iliad'' set in modern times, it is loosely based on the 1966 novel ''Le ...

'' (1972) - Elena *'' The Heroes'' (1973) - Katrin, Greek prostitute *''

The Man Called Noon ''The Man Called Noon'' is a 1973 film directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Richard Crenna and Stephen Boyd. It is based on a 1970 Louis L'Amour novel of the same name. Cast * Richard Crenna as Noon, a gunman who develops amnesia after an at ...

'' (1973) - Fan Davidge *'' Silence the Witness'' (1974) - Luisa Sironi *''

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats ''The Killer Reserved Nine Seats'' ( it, L'assassino ha riservato nove poltrone) is a 1974 Italian ''giallo'' film directed by Giuseppe Bennati. Plot Patrick Davenant invites a group of friends to visit a theatre inside his villa, a place which ...

'' (1974) - Vivian *'' Commissariato di notturna'' (1974) - Sonia *''

Il magnate ''Il magnate'' (''The Tycoon'') is a 1973 Italian comedy film written and directed by Giovanni Grimaldi. Plot Furio Cicerone, a large Sicilian entrepreneur who came from the ranks, finds himself hindered by a loan from a bank due to an indispe ...

'' (1974) - Clelia *''

Cagliostro Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo). Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. ...

'' (1975) - Lorenza Balsamo *'' La trastienda'' (1975) - Lourdes *'' La ragazza dalla pelle di corallo'' (1976) - Laura *'' Don Giovanni in Sicilia'' (1977, TV miniseries) - Ninetta (final appearance)

References

External links

*
Rosanna Schiaffino
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiaffino, Rosanna 1939 births 2009 deaths Deaths from cancer in Lombardy Italian film actresses Actors from Genoa