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Anna Magnani
The defiant mother in Rome, Open City and an Oscar-winning turn in The Rose Tattoo.
Rome, Open City · Bellissima
- Born
- 7 March 1908
- Birthplace
- Rome, Italy
- Died
- 26 September 1973
More people
Anna Magnani
Anna Magnani was an Italian actor whose direct emotional performances became closely associated with postwar Italian cinema.
Early life
Raised in Rome
She grew up with her grandmother and trained in drama in Rome.
Stage beginnings
She performed in revues and nightclubs before her major screen roles.
Career
- 1930s
Stage and screen
She combined theatrical performance with film work.
- 1945
International breakthrough
Rome, Open City brought her worldwide attention.
- 1950s
American recognition
The Rose Tattoo brought the Best Actress Oscar.
Selected work
Rome, Open City
She plays Pina in a story of resistance under Nazi occupation.
Bellissima
A mother tries to make her daughter a film star.
The Rose Tattoo
A widowed woman begins to rediscover desire.
Beyond work
Family
She raised her son Luca, who contracted polio as a young child.
Roman identity
Her voice and screen presence became strongly identified with working-class Rome.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biographical dates and identifiers ↗BFI: Italian neorealism ↗Photo: Hans Krebs. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.