Alessandra Panaro (14 December 1939 – 1 May 2019) was an Italian film actress 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, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

's crime drama ''

Rocco and His Brothers ''Rocco and His Brothers'' () 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 her early roles. Set in 1 ...

'' 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 ''Poor, But Handsome'' () is a 1957 Italian comedy film directed by Dino Risi. There have been two sequels, also directed by Risi and starring Marisa Allasio, Maurizio Arena and Renato Salvatori: '' Pretty But Poor'' in 1957 and '' Poor Million ...

'', 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 '' ingénues'' of Italian cinema during the mid-to-late 1950s, she is best known for having played naive young ...

, she assisted

Mario Riva Mario "Mariuccio" Bonavolontà (26 January 1913 – 1 September 1960), professionally known as Mario Riva, was an Italian television presenter and actor. He appeared in 51 films between 1941 and 1960. Life and career Born in Rome as Mario B ...

in presenting the popular

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

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 ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

at the age of 79.

Partial filmography

* '' The Boatman of Amalfi'' (1954) * '' Destination 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 * ''

'' (1957) – Anna Maria * '' Lazzarella'' (1957) – Sandra Carpella * ''

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

'' (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 * '' Poor Millionaires'' (1959) – Annamaria * ''Le notti dei Teddy Boys'' (1959) – Luisa * '' Il raccomandato di ferro'' (1959) – Wilma * ''

Cerasella ''Cerasella'' is a 1959 Italy, Italian teen film, teen comedy film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo. It is loosely inspired by the lyrics of the song "Cerasella (song), Cerasella". Cast *Claudia Mori: Cerasella *Terence Hill, Mario Girotti: Bru ...

'' (1959) – Nora * ''

'' (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 ''The Son of Captain Blood'' is a 1962 Italian/Spanish/American international co-production film. It is the first starring role in a film for Sean Flynn, the son of Errol Flynn, who played the title character in the 1935 film '' Captain Blood''. T ...

'' (1962) – Abigail 'Abby' McBride * '' The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan'' (1962) – Diana * '' The Executioner of Venice'' (1963) – Leonora Danin * '' Hercules vs. Moloch'' (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-film-actor-stub