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Valentina Cortese: Biography, Facts and Career

Who is Valentina Cortese? An evergreen, sourced profile: biography, key facts and career.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team4 min read✓ Fact-checked
Valentina Cortese
Film diretto da Luigi Zampa e prodotto da Carlo Ponti per Lux Film via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Valentina Elena Cortese Rossi di Coenzo (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019), sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress. Her screen career spanned over 100 productions across over five decades, from 1941 until 1993. Cortese won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance in the film Day for Night (1973). In 2013, she received the French Order of Arts and Letters. Over the course of her career, Cortese worked with many important Italian and international directors, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli, François Truffaut, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Terry Gilliam. She was also active on stage, particularly in the company of Giorgio Strehler. Critic Morando Morandini described her as "one of the last divas of Italian theatre.... a mix of floral liberty, subdued decadence, belated D'Annunzio-ism and neurotic modern sensibility."

Quick facts about Valentina Cortese

  • Full name: Valentina Cortese
  • Born: 1923-01-01
  • Nationality: Italy
  • Known as: Actor
  • Wikidata ID: Q259986

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Valentina Cortese?

Valentina Elena Cortese Rossi di Coenzo (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019), sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress.

What nationality is Valentina Cortese?

Valentina Cortese is Italy.

When was Valentina Cortese born?

Valentina Cortese was born on 1923-01-01.

Sources

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