Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the "Italian-style comedy" (''

commedia all'italiana ''Commedia all'italiana'' () or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' in 1958 ...

''), starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in ''

Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' () is a 1961 Italian black comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un delitto d'onore'' (English ...

'' as Angela, the cousin and love interest of Ferdinando, played by

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

Early life

Sandrelli was born in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

, Tuscany, into a middle-class family, the daughter of Florida and Otello Sandrelli (who died when she was eight years old), owners of a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

in Viareggio. As a girl, Sandrelli studied ballet and learned to play the accordion. Sandrelli had a brother, Sergio, seven years older, who had a successful music career and died in 2013.

Career

She debuted in cinema at the age of 15 in Mario Sequi 's film ''Gioventù di notte.'' In 1960, Sandrelli won the Miss Cinema Viareggio beauty contest, then she was the cover girl of the magazine ''

Le Ore ''Le Ore'' (meaning ''The Hours'' in English) was an Italian weekly news magazine published between 1953 and 1994 in Milan, Italy. History and profile The magazine was founded in Milan in April 1953 as a weekly political, cultural and literary m ...

'', and had the first opportunities to make films, appearing, among others, in

Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, television host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the ...

's ''

The Fascist ''The Fascist'' () is a 1961 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Luciano Salce. It was coproduced with France. It was also the first feature film scored by Ennio Morricone. Plot In 1944, Italy is divided between the fascist puppet state ...

''. Her film career was launched by

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

with ''

'' (1961); later, she worked three more times with Germi, in '' Seduced and Abandoned'' (1964), '' The Climax'' (1967) and ''

Alfredo, Alfredo ''Alfredo, Alfredo'' is a 1972 Italian award-winning comedy film co-written and directed by Pietro Germi. Plot The film, told mostly in flashback, tells the story of a timid bank clerk living in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, who finds himself swept i ...

'' (1970). Stefania-Sandrelli-1963

Sandrelli became in a short time a protagonist of the

, appearing, among others, in

Antonio Pietrangeli Antonio Pietrangeli (19 January 191912 July 1968) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He was a major practitioner of the commedia all'italiana genre. Biography Pietrangeli was born in Rome. He started in the film industry by writing ...

's ''

I Knew Her Well ''I Knew Her Well'' () is a 1965 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Antonio Pietrangeli and starring Stefania Sandrelli. In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of ...

'',

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, one of the masters of the ''commedia all'italiana'' ("Italian-style comedy"). He was nominated six times for an Academy Awards, Os ...

's ''

Brancaleone at the Crusades ''Brancaleone at the Crusades'' () is an Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and released in 1970, the sequel to ''L'armata Brancaleone''. Plot The film starts where ''L'armata Brancaleone'' has ended. Brancaleone da Norcia leads the ...

'' and

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over ...

's ''

We All Loved Each Other So Much ''We All Loved Each Other So Much'' () is a 1974 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Ettore Scola, who co-wrote the screenplay with screenwriting duo Age & Scarpelli. It stars Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, Stefania Sandrelli, Stefano Satta ...

''. She also starred in several

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...

's drama films, including ''

The Conformist ''The Conformist'' (''Il conformista'') is a novel by Alberto Moravia published in 1951, which details the life and desire for normality of a government official during Italy's fascist period. It is also known for the 1970 film adaptation by ...

'' (1970) and ''

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

'' (1976), and in several French productions. In 1980, she won the

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her performance in

's '' La terrazza''. In 1983, she relaunched her career with the

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the Erot ...

' erotic film '' The Key''; following the success of the film she then acted in a series of successful erotic films. On 10 September 2005, she received the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

for Lifetime Achievement at the

62nd Venice International Film Festival The 62nd annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 31 August 2005 to 10 September 2005, at Venice Lido in Italy. Italian production and costume designer Dante Ferretti was the jury president for the main competition. Spanish act ...

. On 11 May 2012, she received the title of Chevalier (Knight) of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

Personal life

Sandrelli had a long relationship with Italian singer-songwriter

Gino Paoli Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: "Il cielo in una stanza (song), Il cielo in una st ...

. Their daughter Amanda Sandrelli, born in 1964, is also an actress.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandrelli, Stefania 1946 births Living people People from Viareggio Actors from the Province of Lucca Actresses from Tuscany Italian film actresses David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Ciak d'oro winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses Italian television actresses Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Further reading

External links