Monica Vitti, ’60s Italian movie star, dead at 90

Walter Veltroni, a writer, director, and politician, relayed the news on behalf Vitti’s husband Roberto Russo.

Monica Vitti was an Italian screen icon, best known for her string of classic 1960s films. She died Wednesday, according to reports from Italy.

Walter Veltroni, a writer, director, and politician, relayed the news on behalf Vitti’s husband Roberto Russo.
The beloved actress was best known for her movies “L’Avventura”, (1960), Red Desert” (1964), and “La Notte” (1961). She had been fighting Alzheimer’s for over two decades.
Vitti was born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli in Rome on November 3, 1931. She acted in amateur productions while she was a teenager, and then went to Rome’s National Academy of Dramatic Arts.

After her incredible collaborations with Michelangelo Antonioni, the legendary director in the 1950s and 1960s, Vitti rose to international fame. Vitti was the protagonist of “L’Avventura”, a cool and detached character who falls in love with her missing girlfriend. Her roles in “La Notte”, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, and “L’Eclisse”, with Alain Delon, followed. Each film is a classic in its respective genre.

Vitti began to make comedies after working with Antonioni. He worked with Mario Monicelli on several films.

Marcello Mastroianni was her star in Ettore’s rom-com, “The Pizza Triangle”. She also made several films with Alberto Sordi (actor and director), and she played a crucial role in Luis Bunuel’s “The Phantom Of Liberty.” In the middle of the 1970s, she made two films together with Claudia Cardinale.

Vitti’s first English language film was “Modesty Blaise”, a 1966 movie by Joseph Losey. Her second English-language film was “An Almost Perfect Affair” (1979) with Keith Carradine.

The 1990 film “Secret Scandal”, which she directed with Elliott Gould, was her last feature. “Ma Tu Mi Vuoi Bene,” a 1992 Italian TV movie, was her last. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the actress stopped acting immediately.

Vitti was nominated for the BAFTA and won five David Di Donatello Awards as Best Actress, seven Italian Golden Globes, and the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award.

The star of the famed actress has starred alongside actors such as Terence Stamp and Terence Stamp.

Vitti was married to Roberto Russo (an Italian composer and pianist) in 2000. They had been together since 1973.