According to reports in Italy, Monica Vitti, an Italian screen icon who was known for her string of classic 1960s films, has passed away at the age of 90.
The news was conveyed by writer, director and politician Walter Veltroni on behalf of Vitti’s longterm partner, Roberto Russo:
Roberto Russo, il suo compagno di tutti questi anni, mi chiede di comunicare che Monica Vitti non c’è più. Lo faccio con dolore, affetto, rimpianto.
— walter veltroni (@VeltroniWalter) February 2, 2022
This is the famed actress who is best known for her roles in movies such as L’Avventura (1960), Red Desert (1964), L’Eclisse(1962) La Notte(1961), was battling Alzheimers for more than two decades.
Vitti was born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli in Rome in 1931. She acted in amateur productions as a teenager then trained at Rome’s National Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Following her extraordinary collaborations in the late 1950s/early 1960s with Michelangelo Antonioni (legendary director), Vitti shot to worldwide fame. Vitti appeared in L’Avventura as a detached and cool protagonist drifting into a relationship with the lover of her missing girlfriend. She became a star in La NotteMarcello Mastroianni & Jeanne Moreau L’EclisseAlain Delon. Each film is a classic in its individual way.
Vitti began to make comedies after working with Antonioni. He worked with Mario Monicelli on several films.
She went on to star with Marcello Mastroianni in Ettore Scola’s rom-com The Pizza Triangle,made multiple films with actor and director Alberto Sordi, and played a key part in Luis Bunuel’s The Phantom Of Liberty. Claudia Cardinale made two films with her in the mid 70s.
1966 pic was her first English-language film.Modesty Blaiseby Joseph Losey and her second was 1979 movie An Almost Perfect AffairKeith Carradine
Vitti won five David Di Donatello Awards, seven Italian Golden Globes and the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award. She was also nominated by BAFTA.
The star of the famed actress has starred alongside actors such as Terence Stamp and Terence Stamp.