Maria Monti (born 26 June 1935) is an Italian film actress and singer.

Life and career

Born in Milan, Monti started her career as a singer in the mid-1950s, performing in the nightclubs of her hometown, soon achieving local success. As a singer, she took part in the Sanremo Music Festival 1961 with "Benzina e cerini", and her repertoire mostly consisted on satirical folk songs. At the same time she started a parallel activity as a stage actress, and starting from 1959 being also active on television and in films, where she collaborated with Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Alberto Lattuada and Mauro Bolognini. On stage, she is best known for her collaboration with Paolo Poli, for the Garinei-Terzoli-Vaime musical comedy Pardon Mounsier Molière she starred in with Gino Bramieri, and for Giovanni Testori's L'Ambleto.

Filmography