Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model.

Biography

She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

until she moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. A former flight inspector for Brazilian international carrier

Varig VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...

, she became fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and French. Bulcão moved to Italy in 1968 after being discovered by the film director

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

. She changed her name to Florinda Bolkan because she thought it would be more comfortable for international audiences. Bolkan acted with the Beatle Ringo Starr in her first film, '' Candy''. She worked in more than forty films, mainly in Italy. She was directed by

Vittorio de Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

in '' Una Breve Vacanza''. Under

Elio Petri Eraclio Petri (29 January 1929 – 10 November 1982), commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film director, screenwriter, theatre director, and critic associated with the political cinema in the 1960s and '70s. His film ''Investigat ...

's direction, she made ''

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion ''Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion'' ( it, Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) is a 1970 Italian crime drama film directed by Elio Petri, starring Gian Maria Volonté and Florinda Bolkan. It is a psychological, bla ...

''.

Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno (September 18, 1926 – February 28, 1994) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Ch ...

directed her in '' Anonimo Veneziano''. She worked with

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

, and

Annie Girardot Annie Suzanne Girardot (25 October 193128 February 2011) was a French actress. She often played strong-willed, independent, hard-working, and often lonely women, imbuing her characters with an earthiness and reality that endeared her to women und ...

. Like Sophia Loren,

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 ...

and

Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed fo ...

, she also won the

David di Donatello award The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the '' Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award ca ...

three times, the Italian equivalent of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in Hollywood. When De Sica cast her in ''Una Breve Vacanza'', the film that introduced her to North America, he said: "I chose you because your eyes have known hunger." She replied: "Those born in Ceará bring within themselves a strong and hard share of the real thing." For 20 years, Bolkan was the life partner of Countess

Marina Cicogna Contessa Marina Cicogna (born 29 May 1934) is a female Italian film producer and photographer. She produced the film '' Belle de Jour,'' which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1967. Personal life Cicogna was born in Rome and g ...

,Obituary for Countess Marina Cicogna
31 October 2013; accessed 11 June 2014. producer of ''Una Breve Vacanza'

In 2000, Bolkan debuted as director in the Brazilian film ''Eu Não Conhecia Tururu''. Besides directing, she also plays a major character in the film. She continues to act in European films, mostly Italian films. Model Sônia Ribeiro, Bolkan's sister, married Willy Bogner Jr. in 1972.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolkan, Florinda 1941 births Brazilian expatriates in Italy Brazilian film actresses Brazilian television actresses David di Donatello winners Lesbian actresses Living people People from Ceará LGBT models Brazilian LGBT actors