Valentina Cortese
Known for Acting
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.
Filmography
Appassionata
1974
as Elisa Rutelli
Barabbas
1961
as Julia
The Barefoot Contessa
1954
as Eleanora Torlato-Favrini
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988
as Queen Ariadne / Violet
Le Amiche
1955
as Nene
Juliet of the Spirits
1965
as Valentina
Thieves' Highway
1949
as Rica
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
1970
as Gabriella (uncredited)
When Time Ran Out...
1980
as Rose Valdez
Day for Night
1973
as Séverine
The Visit
1964
as Mathilda Miller
La Classe américaine
1993
as The Helicopter Man's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sparrow
1994
as Madre Superiora
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
1972
as Pica Di Bernardone
The House on Telegraph Hill
1951
as Victoria Kowelska
Malaya
1949
as Luana
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
as Countess Bozo Bedoni
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
1963
as Laura Craven-Torrani
Black Magic
1949
as Zoraida
The Assassination of Trotsky
1972
as Natalia Trotsky