Francesca Romana Coluzzi (20 May 1943 – 15 July 2009) was an Italian actress. A respected dramatic actress on stage, she is probably best known for her roles in the

commedia sexy all'italiana The commedia sexy all'italiana (, lit. " sex comedy Italian style"), also known as commedia scollacciata or commedia erotica all'italiana, is a subgenre of Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style ''Commedia sexy'' is characterized ty ...

Life and career

Born in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

of Italian parents, Coluzzi soon moved in Italy with her family to

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and par ...

. As a teenager, during a student twist dancing contest,

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 ...

noticed her and offered her a role in '' 8½''. Coluzzi declined the offer to continue her studies, but however the encounter with Fellini marked her life, and she eventually decided to leave the university to pursue a career in the cinema. She started her career as a

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

, first of

Mylène Demongeot Mylène Demongeot (born Marie-Hélène Demongeot; 29 September 1935 – 1 December 2022) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French, Italian, English a ...

in '' Fantômas'' and later of Marisa Mell in '' Danger: Diabolik''. In 1965, at 22, Coluzzi made her acting debut in the

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...

's comedy film ''

002 Operazione Luna ''002 operazione Luna'' is a science fiction comedy film directed by Lucio Fulci. The film stars Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Mónica Randall and Linda Sini. The film's Spanish print released in 1968 was titled ''Dos cosmonautas a la fuerz ...

''. Her

breakout role A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the film industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of critical recognition. The si ...

came in 1969, with the role of Asmara, the

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

's lover in

Pietro Germi Pietro Germi (; 14 September 1914 – 5 December 1974) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the neorealist and commedia all'Italiana genres. His 1961 film '' Divorce Italian Style'' earned him a ...

's ''Serafino''. One year later she played Tarsilla Tettamanzi in Alberto Lattuada's '' Come Have Coffee with Us'', and for this role she won a

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...

for best supporting actress and a Globo d'oro in the same category. In the following years Coluzzi was mainly active in comedy films, especially in the

genre, often playing roles of unbearable and jealous wives. In 1985 she founded in Rome a theater workshop for children, Associazione Culturale Minestrone d'Arte. She died at 66 of lung cancer.

Selected filmography

* '' The Cousin'' (1974) * '' Banzai'' (1997)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coluzzi, Francesca Romana Italian film actresses 1943 births People from Tirana 2009 deaths 20th-century Italian actresses Nastro d'Argento winners Italian television actresses Italian stage actresses Deaths from lung cancer in Lazio