Valentina Cortese (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019) was an Italian actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

's '' Day for Night'' (1973).

Personal life

Cortese was born in Milan to a family from Stresa,

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. In 1940, she met conductor Victor de Sabata, who was 31 years older and married with children. She left high school to follow him to Rome, and there she graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art. They separated in 1948. Cortese married Richard Basehart, her co-star in '' The House on Telegraph Hill'', in 1951, and had one son with him, the actor Jackie Basehart; they divorced in 1960. She never remarried. Jackie Basehart died in Milan in 2015, predeceasing Cortese. Cortese died on 10 July 2019, aged 96.

Career

Cortese made her screen debut in Italian films in 1940, leading to her first internationally acclaimed roles in

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became t ...

's 1948 Italian film ''

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'' with Gino Cervi and a very young Marcello Mastroianni, in which she played both Fantine and Cosette, and the 1949 British film '' The Glass Mountain'' (1949),IMDb profile
/ref> which led to a number of roles in American films of the period, but continued to make films in Europe with such directors as

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—'' L'Avventura'' (1960), '' La Notte'' (1961), and '' L'Eclisse'' (1 ...

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 ...

and

. She signed a contract with

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in 1948. She starred in '' ''Malaya'''' (1949), a

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film about smuggling and guerrilla warfare against the Japanese with

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two conse ...

and James Stewart,

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's '' Thieves' Highway'' (1949) with

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and Lee J. Cobb, '' The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951) directed by

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for h ...

and co-starring Richard Basehart and William Lundigan, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954), with Humphrey Bogart,

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and

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. In Europe she starred in

's '' Le Amiche'' (1955), Gérard Brach's '' The Boat on the Grass'' (1971),

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's British film ''

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'' (1988), and in

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

projects such as the film '' Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' (1972), the

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'' (1977) and the film ''

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'' (1993). Her final American film role was in '' When Time Ran Out'' (1980).

Selected filmography

* ' (1941) * '' L'attore scomparso'' (1941) * ''

The Hero of Venice ''The Hero of Venice'' (Italian: ''Il bravo di Venezia'') is a 1941 Italian historical adventure film directed by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Gustav Diessl, Paola Barbara, Rossano Brazzi and Valentina Cortese.Damiani p.256-257 It was shot ...

'' (1941) – Alina * '' First Love'' (1941) – Nerina Redi * '' Girl of the Golden West'' (1942) – Madge / Juanita * ''

The Jester's Supper ''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 The Jester's Supper (play), play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 Decem ...

'' (1942) – Lisabetta * '' The Queen of Navarre'' (1942) – Eleonora d'Austria * ' (1942) – Maria Renda / Luisa Renda * ' (1942) – Lidia * ' (1942) – Valentina, la sua segretaria * ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' (1942) – Marianna * ' (1943) – Enrichetta Dorlence * ' (1943) * ' (1945) – Valentina * ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1945) – (segment "Non nominare il nome di Dio invano") * ' (1945) – Luisella * ' (1946) – La ragazza * '' A Yank in Rome'' (1946) – Maria, La maestrina * '' Bullet for Stefano'' (1947) – Barbara * ''

The Courier of the King ''The Courier of the King'' (Italian: ''Il corriere del re'') is a 1947 Italian historical film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Rossano Brazzi, Irasema Dilián and Valentina Cortese.Moliterno p.208 It is an adaptation of the 1830 novel '' ...

'' (1947) – Louise de Renal * ''

'' (1948) – Fantine and Cosette * ' (1948) – Esther * '' Crossroads of Passion'' (1948) – Maria Pilar * '' The Glass Mountain'' (1949) – Alida * ''

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1 ...

'' (1949) – Zoraida * '' Thieves' Highway'' (1949) – Rica * ''

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

'' (1949) – Luana * '' Women Without Names'' (1950) – Anna Petrovic the Jugoslav * '' Shadow of the Eagle'' (1950) – Elizabeth, Princess Tarakanova * '' The Rival of the Empress'' (1951) – Principessa Tarakanova * '' The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951) – Victoria Kowelska * '' Secret People'' (1952) – Maria * ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

'' (1953) – Lulù * '' Jealousy'' (1953) – Agrippina (voice, uncredited) * '' The Walk'' (1953) – Lisa * '' Angels of Darkness'' (1954) – Vally * ''

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

'' (1954) – Natalia Stefanovna Chubukova * ''Avanzi di galera'' (1954) – Moglie di Luprandi * '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) – Eleanora Torlato-Favrini * ''

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

'' (1955) – Adriana Lecouvreur * '' Le Amiche'' (1955) – Nene * ''

Il conte Aquila ''Il conte Aquila'' ("Count Aquila") is a 1955 Italian historical drama film directed by Guido Salvini. Inspired to real life events of Italian revolutionary Count Federico Confalonieri, it is based on the drama with the same name by Rino Aless ...

'' (1955) – Teresa Casati * ''Faccia da mascalzone'' (1956) * '' Magic Fire'' (1956) – Mathilde Wesendonk * ''

The Rocket from Calabuch ''Calabuch'' (US title: ''The Rocket From Calabuch'') is a 1956 comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. Synopsis Calabuch is a little village in the coast of Spain. There arrives Dr. George Hamilton ( Edmund Gwenn), a scientist expert in ...

'' (1956) – Eloisa, the Schoolmistress * ''Dimentica il mio passato'' (1957) * ''Kean – Genio e sregolatezza'' (1957) – Fanny (uncredited) * ''Amore a prima vista'' (1958) * ''

Love and Troubles ''Love and Troubles'' ( it, Amore e guai) is a 1958 Italian comedy film directed by Angelo Dorigo. Plot A Don Juan named Roberto woos a young actress of photo novels on the day she is expected to be engaged to the woman he loves, despite the ...

'' (1958) – Marisa * ''

Square of Violence ''Square of Violence'' is a 1961 drama film directed by Leonardo Bercovici and written by Eric Bercovici and Leonardo Bercovici. The film, shot in Yugoslavia, stars Broderick Crawford, Valentina Cortese, Branko Pleša, Bibi Andersson and Anita ...

'' (1961) – Erica Bernardi * '' Barabbas'' (1961) – Julia * '' Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele'' (1962) – Eleonora Duse * '' The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' (1963) – Laura Craven-Torrani * '' The Visit'' (1964) – Mathilda Miller * '' The Possessed'' (1965) – Irma * '' Juliet of the Spirits'' (1965) – Valentina * ''Soleil noir'' (1966) – Maria * '' The Legend of Lylah Clare'' (1968) – Countess Bozo Bedoni * '' Listen, Let's Make Love'' (1968) – Lallo's Mother * '' Oh, Grandmother's Dead'' (1968) – Ornella * '' The Secret of Santa Vittoria'' (1969) – Gabriella (uncredited) * ''Give Her the Moon'' (1970) – Madeleine de Lépine * '' First Love'' (1970) – Mother * '' The Love Mates'' (1970) – Eva * '' The Boat on the Grass'' (1971) – Christine * ''

The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire ''L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco'' () is a 1971 '' giallo'' film. It is directed by Riccardo Freda, who was unhappy with the film and had his name replaced with the pseudonym "Willy Pareto". Cast * Luigi Pistilli as Detective John Norton * D ...

'' (1971) – Mrs. Sobiesky * ''

Chronicle of a Homicide ''Chronicle of a Homicide'' ( it, Imputazione di omicidio per uno studente, also known as ''Italian Streetfighters'') is a 1972 Italian crime-drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini. Cast *Massimo Ranieri: Fabio Sola *Martin Balsam: Judge Aldo Sol ...

'' (1972) – Luisa Sola * '' Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' (1972) – Pica Di Bernardone * ''

The Assassination of Trotsky ''The Assassination of Trotsky'' is a 1972 British historical drama film, directed by Joseph Losey with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley. It stars Richard Burton as Leon Trotsky, as well as Romy Schneider and Alain Delon. Plot Exiled from th ...

'' (1972) – Natalia Sedowa Trotsky * '' Day for Night'' (1973) – Séverine * '' Appassionata'' (1974) – Elisa Rutelli * ''Tendre Dracula'' (1974) – (uncredited) * '' The Kiss of Death'' (1974) – Elizabeth Blixen * ''Amore mio non farmi male'' (1974) – Sabina Foschini * '' Dracula in the Provinces'' (1975) – Olghina Franchetti * '' Kidnap Syndicate'' (1975) – Grazia Filippini * ''Son tornate a fiorire le rose'' (1975) – Sabina Foschini * '' Nick the Sting'' (1976) – Regina – Nick's Mother * '' The Big Operator'' (1976) – The Widow * ''

'' (1977, TV Mini-Series) – Herodias * ''Nido de viudas'' (1977) – Dolores * ''Tanto va la gatta al lardo...'' (1978) – Vilma / Leonilde Bosco Casagrande * ''Un'ombra nell'ombra'' (1979) – Elena Merrill * '' When Time Ran Out'' (1980) – Rose Valdez * ''La ferdinanda: Sonate für eine Medici-Villa'' (1982) – Caterina de Dominicis * ''Via Montenapoleone'' (1987) – Madre di Guido * ''Tango blu'' (1987) – Rachele Cigno * '' Young Toscanini'' (1988) – Comparsa (uncredited) * ''

'' (1988) – Queen Ariadne / Violet * '' Buster's Bedroom'' (1991) – Serafina Tannenbaum * ''

'' (1993) – Mother Superior (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortese, Valentina 1923 births 2019 deaths Italian film actresses Italian television actresses Actresses from Milan Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners Nastro d'Argento winners 20th-century Italian actresses