Vanna Vanni (7 January 1915 – 6 March 1998) was an Italian film actress. She was in thirty-one films between 1930 and 1943.

Life and career

Vanni was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

as Maria Angelica Giovanna Pegna. She has been described as a graceful and elegant brunette, and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' film critic,

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

, wrote in a review of ''

I've Lost My Husband! ''I've Lost My Husband!'' (Italian: ''Ho perduto mio marito'') is a 1937 Italian " white-telephones" romantic comedy film directed by Enrico Guazzoni and starring Paola Borboni, Nino Besozzi and Enrico Viarisio.Clarke & Doel p.37 It was based a pl ...

'' that she was "one of the prettiest girls in the Italian film industry." Her first cinematic role was in ''Perché no?'' (1930), directed by

Amleto Palermi Amleto Palermi (11 July 1889 – 20 April 1941) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 70 films between 1914 and 1942. He directed '' The Old Lady'', which starred Vittorio De Sica in his first sound film. Se ...

, and in her first films she was credited as Vanna Pegna. Vanni was one of the most prolific actresses in Italian cinema between mid-1930s and 1940s; specialized in comedy films, she got some critical acclaim for her dramatic turn in Esodo Pratelli's ''Se non son matti non li vogliamo''. She also worked with directors such as

Raffaello Matarazzo Raffaello Matarazzo (17 August 1909 – 17 May 1966) was an Italian filmmaker. Life Matarazzo started writing film reviews for the Roman newspaper ''Il Tevere'' before re-editing scripts for the Italian film company Cines. His first films w ...

Gennaro Righelli Gennaro Righelli (12 December 1886 – 6 January 1949) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and acting, actor. He directed more than 110 films in Italy and Germany between 1910 and 1947. In 1930, he directed the first Italian sound fil ...

Giorgio Simonelli Giorgio Simonelli (14 November 1901 Birth name: Giorgio Simonelli. – 3 October 1966), was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and journalist. Life and career Born in Rome, Simonelli obtained a high school diploma in business stud ...

, and

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

. She retired from film in 1943 and died in Rome in 1998.

Selected filmography

*''Perché no?'' (1930) (as Vanna Pegna) *''

The Doctor's Secret The Doctors Secret may refer to: * The Doctor's Secret (1909 film), ''The Doctor's Secret'' (1909 film), a French silent short film * The Doctor's Secret (1913 film), ''The Doctor's Secret'' (1913 film), an American silent short film * The Doctor's ...

'' (1931) (as Vanna Pegna) *''Il serpente a sonagli'' (1935) (as Vanna Pegna) * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) *'' La gondola delle chimere'' (1936) *''

Sette giorni all'altro mondo ''Sette giorni all'altro mondo'' is a 1936 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli. Cast *Camillo Pilotto * Vanna Vanni * Franco Coop *Nietta Zocchi *Emilio Petacci *Virgilio Riento *Guglielmo Barnabò Guglielmo Ba ...

'' (1936) *'' L'uomo che sorride'' (1936) *''

King of Diamonds The king of diamonds is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Diamonds may also refer to: * ''King of Diamonds'' (film), a 1936 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Guazzoni * ''King of Diamonds'' (TV series), a 1961–62 Ameri ...

'' (1936) *'' I fratelli Castiglioni'' (1937) *'' Ho perduto mio marito'' (''I've Lost My Husband!'') (1937) *''Le educande di Saint-Cyr'' (1939) * '' The Knight of San Marco'' (1939) * ''

The Faceless Voice ''The Faceless Voice'' (French: ''La voix sans visage'') is a 1933 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Lucien Muratore, Véra Korène and Jean Servais.Oscherwitz & Higgins p. 281 Plot The singer Saltore is accused of murder ...

'' (1939) *''L'imprevisto'' (1940) * ''

A Husband for the Month of April ''A Husband for the Month of April'' (Italian: ''Un marito per il mese di aprile'') is a 1941 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Giorgio Simonelli and starring Vanna Vanni, Carlo Romano and Pina Renzi.Brunetta p.96 It was shot ...

'' (1941) *''Se non son matti non li vogliamo'' (1941) * '' Torrents of Spring'' (1942) *''

Non ti pago! ''Non ti pago!'' is a 1942 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, who also adapted the play by Eduardo De Filippo, the star of the film. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice Internationa ...

'' (1942) *''4 ragazze sognano'' (1943) *''Non Mi Muovo!'' (1943) *''Ti conosco, mascherina!'' (1943)

References

External links

* * (short clip) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanni, Vanna 1915 births 1998 deaths Italian film actresses 20th-century Italian actresses Actors from Florence