Virna Lisi

Virna Lisi
Lisi on 18 March 2011
Born	Virna Pieralisi (1936-11-08)8 November 1936 Ancona, Italy
Died	18 December 2014(2014-12-18) (aged 78) Rome, Italy
Cause of death	Cancer
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1953–2014
Spouse(s)	Franco Pesci (1960–2013; his death)
Children	Corrado Pesci (born 1962)
Awards	David di Donatello Best Actress 1980 The Cricket Best Supporting Actress 1983 Time for Loving Nastro d'Argento Best Actress 1990 Merry Christmas... Happy New Year 1997 Follow Your Heart Best Supporting Actress 1978 Beyond Good and Evil 1983 Time for Loving 1995 La Reine Margot 2002 The Best Day of My Life César Award Best Supporting Actress 1995 La Reine Margot Cannes Film Festival Best Actress 1994 La Reine Margot

Virna Pieralisi (pronounced [ˈvirna pjeraˈliːzi]; 8 November 1936 – 18 December 2014), better known as Virna Lisi [ˈvirna ˈliːzi], was an Italian actress.

Ancona-born Lisi began her film career in her teens. Discovered in Paris by two Neapolitan producers, Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce, she debuted in La corda d'acciaio (The Steel Rope, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like E Napoli canta (Napoli Sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (Of Life and Love, 1954, with the popular Totò). Nonetheless, her beauty was more valued than her talent, as seen in Le diciottenni (Eighteen Year Olds) and Lo scapolo (The Bachelor) films of 1955. Yet she filled demanding roles, particularly in La donna del giorno (1956), Eva (1962), and the spectacle Romolo e Remo (1961).

In the late 1950s, Lisi did theater at Piccolo Teatro di Milano in I giacobini by Federico Zardi under the direction of Giorgio Strehler. During the 1960s, Lisi did comedies and participated in television dramas that were widely viewed in Italy. Lisi also promoted a toothpaste brand on television with a slogan that would become a catchphrase among Italians: "con quella bocca può dire ciò che vuole" (with such a mouth, she can say whatever she wants).

Hollywood producers sought a new Marilyn Monroe and so, Lisi debuted in Hollywood comedy as a blue-eyed blonde temptress opposite Jack Lemmon in How to Murder Your Wife (1965) and appeared with Tony Curtis in Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966). Lisi then starred with Frank Sinatra, in Assault on a Queen (1966), in La Ragazza e il Generale, co-starring with Rod Steiger, and in two films with Anthony Quinn, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, directed by Stanley Kramer, and the war drama The 25th Hour. She garnered attention for a photo of her 'shaving' her face that appeared on the March 1965 cover of Esquire magazine.