From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Valentina Cortese January 1 1923 July 10 2019 was an Italian film actress The Milanborn 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 Truffauts Day for Night Cortese appeared in Jules Dassins Thieves Highway 1949 Joseph L Mankiewiczs The Barefoot Contessa 1954 Michelangelo Antonionis Le Amiche 1955 Gérard Brachs The Boat on the Grass Terry Gilliams 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 Description above from the Wikipedia article Valentina Cortese licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia