Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the commedia all'Italiana, starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in Divorce Italian Style as Angela, the cousin and love interest of Ferdinando, played by Marcello Mastroianni.

Early life

Sandrelli was born in Viareggio, Tuscany, into a middle-class family, the daughter of Florida and Otello Sandrelli (who died when she was eight years old), owners of a pension in Viareggio. As a girl, Sandrelli studied ballet and learned to play the accordion. Sandrelli had a brother, Sergio, seven years older, who had a successful music career and died in 2013.

Career

She debuted in cinema at the age of 15 in Mario Sequi 's film Gioventù di notte. In 1960, Sandrelli won the Miss Cinema Viareggio beauty contest, then she was the cover girl of the magazine Le Ore, and had the first opportunities to make films, appearing, among others, in Luciano Salce's Il federale. Her film career was launched by Pietro Germi with Divorce Italian Style (1961); later, she worked three more times with Germi, in Seduced and Abandoned (1963), L'immorale (1967) and Alfredo, Alfredo (1970). Sandrelli became in a short time a protagonist of the commedia all'italiana, appearing, among others, in Antonio Pietrangeli's Io la conoscevo bene, Mario Monicelli's Brancaleone alle crociate and Ettore Scola's C'eravamo tanto amati. She also starred in several Bernardo Bertolucci's drama films, including The Conformist (1970) and 1900 (1976), and in several French productions. In 1980, she won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her performance in Ettore Scola's La terrazza. In 1983, she relaunched her career with the Tinto Brass' erotic film The Key; following the success of the film she then acted in a series of successful erotic films. On 10 September 2005, she received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival. On 11 May 2012, she received the title of Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Personal life

Sandrelli had a long relationship with Italian singer-songwriter Gino Paoli. Their daughter Amanda Sandrelli, born in 1964, is also an actress.

Filmography

Film

Television