Valentina Cortese
Biography
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.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (47)
Diva!
2017
Le ragazze di Milano
as Self
2007
Michelangelo Antonioni: The Eye That Changed Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
2001
Federico Fellini's Autobiography
as Self
2000
Sparrow
as Madre Superiora
1994
La Classe américaine
as The Helicopter Man's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
1993
Buster's Bedroom
as Serafina Tannenbaum
1991
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
as Queen Ariadne / Violet
1988
Facciaffittasi
as Gina Grandi
1988
Via Montenapoleone
as madre di Guido
1987
Blue Tango
as Rachele Cigno
1987
When Time Ran Out...
as Rose Valdez
1980
Ring of Darkness
as Elena Merrill
1979
Tanto va la gatta al lardo...
as Wilma/Leonilde Bosco Casagrande
1978
Widows' Nest
as Dolores
1977
The Big Operator
as Witwe
1976
Nick the Sting
as Regina
1976
Son tornate a fiorire le rose
as Sabina Foschini
1975
Kidnap Syndicate
as Grazia Filippini
1975
Il cav. Costante Nicosia demoniaco, ovvero Dracula in Brianza
as Olghina Franchetti
1975
The Kiss
as Elizabeth Blixen
1974
Tender Dracula
1974
Amore mio non farmi male
as Sabina Foschini
1974
Appassionata
as Elisa Rutelli
1974
Day for Night
as Séverine
1973
The Assassination of Trotsky
as Natalia Trotsky
1972
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
as Pica Di Bernardone
1972
Chronicle of a Homicide
as Luisa Sola
1972
The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire
as Madame Sobieski
1971
The Boat on the Grass
as Catherine
1971
The Love Mates
as Eva
1970
First Love
as Mutter
1970
Give Her the Moon
as Madeleine de Lépine
1970
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
as Gabriella (uncredited)
1970
Oh, Grandmother's Dead
as Ornella
1969
Listen, Let's Make Love
as Lallo's Mother
1968
The Legend of Lylah Clare
as Countess Bozo Bedoni
1968
Black Sun
as Maria
1966
Juliet of the Spirits
as Valentina
1965
Antonioni: Documents and Testimonials
as Self
1965
The Possessed
as Irma
1965
Reporter’s Diary: 'Zoom on Fellini'
as Self
1965
The Visit
as Mathilda Miller
1964
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
as Laura Craven-Torrani
1963
Story of San Michele
as Eleonora Duse
1962
Barabbas
as Julia
1961
Square of Violence
as Erica Bernardi
1961
