90th Birthday of Lea Massari
June 30, 1933 in Rome, in the family of an engineer named Massetani, a girl was born, who received the name Anna-Maria. When it came time to choose a profession, Anna-Maria entered architecture courses. But she was not destined to become an architect. In 1954, Italian film director Mario Monicelli began work on the film "Proibito (Forbidden)". Piero Gherardi, a friend of the Massetani family, was the production designer on this film. He, knowing about the high artistic taste of Anna-Maria, asked her to help in matters related to antiques. But Monicelli, seeing at the studio a girl with aristocratic and refined features, an unusual feline look and a hoarse voice, decided that she, like no other, was suitable for the main female role in this film.
The year 1955 was to be twice significant for Anna-Maria Massetani: this year her debut film was to be released and her wedding was to take place the same year. But the wedding did not take place: a few days before the appointed date, Anna-Maria's fiancé, whose name was Leo, died in a car accident. In memory of him, Anna-Maria changed her name to Lea, and also slightly modified her surname. In the credits for the film "Forbidden", the new name of the actress was indicated: Lea Massari. It cannot be said that Lea Massari's debut film and the two films that followed it with her participation brought her any notable fame. But after 5 years, the name of Lea Massari became widely known in the cinematic world. This happened thanks to the very scandalous premiere at the Cannes Film Festival of Michelangelo Antonioni's film "L'Avventura (The Adventure)", in which Lea Massari played one of the main roles.
The Soviet moviegoer first saw Lea Massari in 1965. This year, at the Moscow International Film Festival, the premiere of Valerio Zurlini's film, the original title of which was "Le soldatesse", which can be translated as "Soldiers", took place. At the Moscow Film Festival and later in the Soviet wide release, which began in 1966, the film was shown under the title "They followed the soldiers." Russian film distributors have changed the name of the film to "Soldier's Wenches". Apparently, out of a desire to attract the attention of a highly spiritual and staunch audience. One of the roles in this film was played by Lea Massari.
During the period from 1954 to 1990, Lea Massari played in 51 full-length feature films, not counting roles in television films and television series. 2 of these 51 films are included in the Golden Thousand, including the aforementioned "The Adventure" and Dino Risi's film "Una vita difficile (A Difficult Life)" in 1961. Thanks to this indicator and her peculiar beauty, Lea Massari is included in the list of the 100 most beautiful and sexy Actresses of world cinema, compiled by FilmGourmand.
After 1990, Lea Massari stopped acting in films. She lives in seclusion in her villa in Sardinia (her husband, a former Alitalia pilot, died in 2004). However, the life of the former movie star cannot be called isolated from society, as she is actively involved in the activities of the League for the abolition of hunting. In honor of the birthday of a wonderful Actress, I want to remind her fans of the shots from the best films with her participation.
