Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor t ...

for the 1950s and '60s. She won the

David di Donatello for Best Actress The David di Donatello Award for Best Actress ( it, David di Donatello per la migliore attrice protagonista) is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize the outstandin ...

three times - for ''

The Verona Trial ''Il processo di Verona'' (internationally released as ''The Verona Trial'') is a 1963 Italian historical drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani. The film tells of the final phases of the Italian fascist regime, in particular the affair of the 1944 ...

'' (1963), ''The Witches'' (1967), and ''

The Scientific Cardplayer ''The Scientific Cardplayer'', also known as ''The Scopone Game'' ( it, Lo scopone scientifico), is a 1973 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Luigi Comencini. The screenplay was written by Rodolfo Sonego. Plot An aging and wealthy American w ...

'' (1973) - and the

Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress The ''Nastro d'Argento'' (Silver Ribbon) is a film award assigned each year, since 1946, by ''Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' ("Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists") the association of Italian film critic ...

twice. Raised in poverty during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a Miss Rome beauty pageant in 1946. This led to work in films; she achieved success in ''

Bitter Rice ''Bitter Rice'' ( it, Riso Amaro ) is a 1949 Italian film made by Lux Film, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman, ''Bitter Rice'' was ...

'' (1949) and went on to forge a successful career in films, working with many notable directors like

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

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 ...

Alberto Lattuada Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a student, a ...

, and

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

. Her career continued well into her 50s, with supporting roles in

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

's ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

'' (1984) and

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

''Dark Eyes'' (1987). Mangano was the wife of international film producer

Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...

and had four children with him, including

Veronica De Laurentiis Veronica De Laurentiis (born 1950) is an Italian-American author and actress. She is the daughter of Silvana Mangano and Dino De Laurentiis, and sister of film producer Raffaella De Laurentiis. At eighteen, she was cast in the film '' Waterloo' ...

and

Raffaella De Laurentiis Raffaella De Laurentiis (born 28 June 1952) is an Italian film producer. Films that she has produced include ''Conan the Barbarian'', ''Conan the Destroyer'', ''Dune'', '' Prancer'', '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'', all films in the ''Dragonheart ...

Early life

Born in Rome to an Italian father and an English mother (Ivy Webb from

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

), Mangano lived in poverty during World War II. Trained for seven years as a dancer, she supported herself as a model. In 1946, at age 16, Mangano won the Miss Rome beauty pageant, and through this, she obtained a role in a Mario Costa film. One year later, she became a contestant in the Miss Italia contest. The contest that year became a springboard for a pool of potential actresses, including the winner Lucia Bosé, Mangano, and several other future stars of Italian cinema such as

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 ...

, Eleonora Rossi Drago and

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia B ...

Career

Mangano's earliest connection with filmmaking occurred through her romantic relationship with actor

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

. This led her to a film contract, though it took some time for Mangano to ascend to international stardom with her performance in ''

'' (''Riso Amaro'',

Giuseppe De Santis Giuseppe De Santis (11 February 1917 – 16 May 1997) was an Italian film director. One of the most idealistic neorealist filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote and directed films punctuated by ardent cries for social reform. He was ...

, 1949). She signed a contract with Lux Film in 1949, and later married producer

. Although she never had an international career to match her contemporaries

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 ...

and Gina Lollobrigida, Mangano remained a favorite star between the 1950s and 1970s, appearing in ''

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

'' (

, 1951), ''

L'oro di Napoli ''The Gold of Naples'' ( it, L'oro di Napoli ) is a 1954 Italian anthology film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The film is a tribute to Naples, where director De Sica spent his first years, t ...

'' (

, 1954), ''

Mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particula ...

'' ( Robert Rossen, 1955), '' Teorema'' (

, 1968), '' Death in Venice'' (

, 1971), ''

'' (

Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007)
''The Guardian'' was an Italian

, 1972), and '' Ludwig'' (Luchino Visconti, 1973). She played the lead role in the 1967 anthology film '' The Witches,'' which featured segments directed by Pasolini, Visconti, De Sica, and Mauro Bolognini. She collaborated four times with Pasolini and Visconti. Over the course of her career, Mangano won the

three times and the

twice. Her final film role was in

for ''Dark Eyes'', for which received a Nastro d'Argento nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Although it was sung by

Flo Sandon's Mammola Sandon, known by the stage name of Flo Sandon's (29 June 1924 – 17 November 2006), was an Italian singer who was popular in the post-World War II years. She won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1953 with the song " Viale d'autunno". Ca ...

, Silvana Mangano was credited on the record label of "

El Negro Zumbón "El Negro Zumbón" (also known as "Anna") is a baião song written by Armando Trovajoli in 1951 for the film '' Anna'', directed by Alberto Lattuada and starring Silvana Mangano. In the movie, the song is performed in a night club scene by Mangano ...

", which is from the soundtrack of the film ''

'' (1951) and was a hit song in 1953. A clip of the opening of this performance is featured in the film ''

Cinema Paradiso ''Cinema Paradiso'' ( it, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, , literally "New Paradise Cinema") is a 1988 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in a small Sicilian town, the film centers on the friendship between a young ...

'' (1988).

Personal life

It is claimed that she had affairs with

Mohammad Reza Shah , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

of Iran during the late 1940s. Married to film producer

from 1949, the couple had four children: Veronica, Raffaella, Francesca, and Federico. Veronica's daughter Giada De Laurentiis is the host of ''

Everyday Italian ''Everyday Italian'' is a Food Network show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. In the show, De Laurentiis focuses for her viewers on traditional Italian cuisine with an American flair. Popularity The show is recorded (shot at 24 frames for a cinema ...

'' and ''

Giada at Home ''Giada at Home'' is a television show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. It first aired on October 18, 2008 on the Food Network. The show was nominated for two Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive rang ...

'' on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

. Raffaella co-produced with her father on Mangano's penultimate film, ''

'' (

, 1984). Federico died in an airplane crash in 1981 in Alaska. De Laurentiis and Mangano separated in 1983, and Mangano began divorce proceedings in 1988.

Death

Following surgery on 4 December 1989 that left her in a coma, Mangano died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain on 16 December 1989.

Legacy

In 2000, the city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

named a street in the

Vallerano Vallerano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about southeast of Viterbo. Vallerano borders the following municipalities: Canepina, Caprarola, Carbognano, ...

district after Mangano.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Front Cover of ''Life'' Magazine, 11 April 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangano, Silvana 1930 births 1989 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Spain Italian film actresses Italian people of English descent Italian expatriates in Spain Actresses from Rome People of Sicilian descent David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners 20th-century Italian actresses De Laurentiis family Italian expatriates in the United States