Elsa Martinelli

Elsa Martinelli 3 August 1932 or 30 January 1935 according to different sources was an Italian actress and former fashion model Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto Tuscany she moved to Rome with her family and in 1953 was discovered by Roberto Capucci who introduced her to the world of fashion She became a model and began playing small roles in films She appeared in Claude AutantLaras Le Rouge et le noir 1954 but her first important film role came the following year with The Indian Fighter opposite Kirk Douglas Douglas claims to have spotted her on a magazine cover and hired her for his production company Bryna Productions In 1956 she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival for playing the title role in Mario Monicellis Donatella From the mid 1950s through the late 1960s she divided her time between Europe and the USA appearing films such as Four Girls in Town 1957 with George Nader Manuela 1957 with Trevor Howard Prisoner of the Volga 1959 with John Derek Hatari 1962 with John Wayne The Pigeon That Took Rome 1962 with Charlton Heston The Trial with Anthony Perkins The VIPs 1963 with Orson Welles Rampage 1963 with Robert Mitchum and Woman Times Seven 1967 with Lex Barker In Candy 1968 her costars were Charles Aznavour Marlon Brando Richard Burton James Coburn Walter Matthau and Ringo Starr Since the late 1960s she has worked in Europe in mostly foreign language productions Her last English language role was as Carla the Agent in 1992s Once Upon a Crime Her most recent appearance was in the 2005 European television series Orgoglio as the Duchessa di Monteforte Martinelli was first married to Count Franco Mancinelli Scotti di San Vito by whom she has a daughter Cristiana Mancinelli born 1958 also an actress She later was married to the Paris Match photographer and 1970s furniture designer Willy Rizzo Description above from the Wikipedia article Elsa Martinelli licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia