Olga Villi | |
---|---|
Born | Olga Villani 20 January 1922 |
Died | 12 August 1989
Rapallo, Italy | (aged 67)
Occupation | actress |
Olga Villi (20 January 1922 – 12 August 1989), was an Italian model and actress.
Born in Suzzara, Mantua as Olga Villani, Villi began to work, only twelve years old, as a saleswoman and seamstress at the Milanese fashion house Biki. [1]
A few years later her employer hired her as a model; noted by Macario, she was hired by him in 1942 for the rivista- operetta Il grillo al castello, where she had to act, sing and dance. [1] Thanks to the success of the show Villi became one of the most quoted soubrettes of the period, working with Anna Magnani, Nino Taranto and Alberto Sordi, and in mid-1940s she also starred in several drama plays, working among others with Luchino Visconti, Alessandro Blasetti and Giorgio Strehler. [1] [2]
Also active in films and on television, in 1967 Villi won a Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her performance in Pietro Germi's The Birds, the Bees and the Italians. [3] After having announced her retirement in 1972, she came back on stage in 1984. [2]
She was married to the nobleman Raimondo Lanza di Trabia until his suicide in 1954. [1] [4] Villi died after a long illness in Rapallo, where she lived for about thirty years. [2]