Valentina Cortese

Actor

1923-01-01 – 2019-07-10 · Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Valentina Cortese (January 1, 1923 - July 10, 2019) was an Italian film actress.

The Milan-born actress starred in The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) directed by Robert Wise, and costarring Richard Basehart and William Lundigan. Cortese, aged 28, married Basehart in 1951, and had one son with him before they divorced in 1960.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1975 for her performance in François Truffaut's Day for Night.

Cortese appeared in Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway (1949), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Michelangelo Antonioni's Le Amiche (1955), Gérard Brach's The Boat on the Grass, Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and in the Franco Zeffirelli projects such as the 1972 film Brother Sun, Sister Moon, his 1977 miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth and the 1993 film Sparrow.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) — Queen Ariadne / Violet
Day for Night (1973) — Séverine
Juliet of the Spirits (1965) — Valentina
The Barefoot Contessa (1954) — Eleanora Torlato-Favrini
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) — Laura Craven-Torrani
Barabbas (1961) — Julia
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) — Pica Di Bernardone
Thieves' Highway (1949) — Rica
Le Amiche (1955) — Nene
When Time Ran Out... (1980) — Rose Valdez
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) — Victoria Kowelska
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970) — Gabriella (uncredited)
The Possessed (1965) — Irma
Appassionata (1974) — Elisa Rutelli
The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) — Natalia Trotsky
The Rocket from Calabuch (1956) — Eloísa, la maestra de escuela
The Visit (1964) — Mathilda Miller
The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971) — Madame Sobieski
The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) — Countess Bozo Bedoni
Kidnap Syndicate (1975) — Grazia Filippini
Sparrow (1994) — Madre Superiora
Black Magic (1949) — Zoraida
Give Her the Moon (1970) — Madeleine de Lépine
The Big Operator (1976) — Witwe