Alessandra Panaro (14 December 1939 – 1 May 2019) was an Italian

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Panaro is best known for her films in the early 1960s, notably

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 fat ...

's crime drama ''

Rocco e i suoi fratelli ''Rocco and His Brothers'' ( it, Rocco e i suoi fratelli) is a 1960 drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori, Katina Paxinou, Roger Hanin, Paolo Stoppa, and Claudia Cardinale in one of he ...

'' in 1960.

Life and career

Born in Rome into a wealthy family, Panaro studied acting under Teresa Franchini. She made her film debut at 16 years old, and got a large success in 1956 thanks to the

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of '' commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an ...

's comedy film ''

Poor, But Handsome ''Poveri ma belli'' (U.S. title: ''Poor, But Handsome''; U.K. title: ''A Girl in Bikini'') is a successful 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. There have been two sequels, also directed by Risi and starring Marisa Allasio, Maurizio Ar ...

'', then specializing in romantic comedies. In 1957–8, together with her ''Poor, But Handsome'' co-star

Lorella De Luca Lorella De Luca (17 September 1940 – 9 January 2014) was an Italian film, television, and voice actress. One of the most recognized ingenues of Italian cinema during the mid-to-late 1950s, she is best known for having played naive young girl ...

, she assisted Mario Riva in presenting the popular RAI game show '' Il Musichiere''.

Personal life

Panaro was first married to the Italian-Egyptian banker Jean-Pierre Sabet. Widowed, in 1992 she married the actor Giancarlo Sbragia. She died on 1 May 2019 in her home in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

at the age of 79.

Partial filmography

* '' The Boatman of Amalfi'' (1954) * '' Destinazione Piovarolo'' (1955) * ''Il campanile d'oro'' (1955) * '' Wild Love'' (1956) – Marcella * ''Guardia, guardia scelta, brigadiere e maresciallo'' (1956) – Charlotte * ''I miliardari'' (1956) – Mariuccia * ''Mamma sconosciuta'' (1956) – Lia * ''Cantando sotto le stelle'' (1956) – Lucia Traversa * '' Poveri ma belli'' (1957) – Anna Maria * ''

Lazzarella "Lazzarella" is a song composed by Domenico Modugno and Riccardo Pazzaglia. The song, with a performance by Aurelio Fierro, ranked second at the fifth edition of the Festival di Napoli. It also got an immediate commercial success, peaking at sec ...

'' (1957) – Sandra Carpella * ''

Belle ma povere ''Belle ma povere'' (internationally released as ''Pretty But Poor'') is a 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It is the sequel of '' Poveri ma belli'' and was followed by ''Poveri milionari''.Paolo D'Agostini, ''Dino Risi'', Editrice ...

'' (1957) – Anna Maria * ''

'' (1957) – Sandra Carpella * '' Pretty But Poor'' (1957) – Anna Maria * '' La trovatella di Pompei'' (1957) – Maria Molinaro / Curti * '' Love and Chatter'' (1958) – Doddy Paseroni * ''Si le roi savait ça'' (1958) – Mireille * '' Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics'' (1958) – Vignanelli's Daughter * ''Te doy mi vida'' (1958) * ''L'ultima canzone'' (1958) * '' Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild Women'' (1959) * ''I ragazzi dei Parioli'' (1959) – Susy * ''Avventura a Capri'' (1959) – Sandra * ''

Poveri milionari ''Poveri milionari'' (internationally released as ''Poor Millionaires'') is a 1959 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. It is the final chapter in the trilogy started with '' Poveri ma belli''.Paolo D'Agostini, ''Dino Risi'', Editrice Il ca ...

'' (1959) – Annamaria * ''Le notti dei Teddy Boys'' (1959) – Luisa * '' Il raccomandato di ferro'' (1959) – Wilma * '' Cerasella'' (1959) – Nora * '' Rocco and His Brothers'' (1960) – Ciro's fiancée * '' The Bacchantes'' (1961) – Manto * ''Pecado de amor'' (1961) – Esperanza * ''Mariti a congresso'' (1961) * '' Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules'' (1962) – Elena * '' The Son of Captain Blood'' (1962) – Abigail 'Abby' McBride * '' The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan'' (1962) – Diana * '' The Executioner of Venice'' (1963) – Leonora Danin * ''

Hercules vs. Moloch ''Hercules vs. Moloch'' ( it, Ercole contro Moloch, french: Hercule contre Moloch, also released as Conquest of Mycenae) is a 1963 Italian/French international co-production peplum film written and directed by Giorgio Ferroni and starring Gordo ...

'' (1964) – Medea, Queen of Tyro * '' Temple of the White Elephant'' (1964) – Cynthia Montague * '' The Shoot'' (1964) – Frau des Schut (uncredited) * '' The Treasure of the Aztecs'' (1965) – Rosita Arbellez *'' The Pyramid of the Sun God'' (1965) – Rosita Arbellez * '' 30 Winchester per El Diablo'' (1965) – Pamela Webb * ''La notte dell'addio'' (1966) * '' Sexycop'' (1976) * ''La notte è piccola per noi'' (2016) – Adelina (final film role)

References

External links and sources

* 1939 births 2019 deaths Italian film actresses Actresses from Rome 20th-century Italian actresses {{Italy-actor-stub