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Valentina Cortese

Valentina Cortese

Acting • 1923-01-01 • Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Valentina Cortese (January 1, 1923 - July 10, 2019) was an Italian film actress. The Milan-born actress starred in The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) directed by Robert Wise, and costarring Richard Basehart and William Lundigan. Cortese, aged 28, married Basehart in 1951, and had one son with him before they divorced in 1960. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1975 for her performance in François Truffaut's Day for Night. Cortese appeared in Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway (1949), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Michelangelo Antonioni's Le Amiche (1955), Gérard Brach's The Boat on the Grass, Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and in the Franco Zeffirelli projects such as the 1972 film Brother Sun, Sister Moon, his 1977 miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth and the 1993 film Sparrow.

Known For

Day for Night7.8

Day for Night

1973

Jesus of Nazareth7.8

Jesus of Nazareth

1977

Juliet of the Spirits7.2

Juliet of the Spirits

1965

The Girl Who Knew Too Much6.9

The Girl Who Knew Too Much

1963

Thieves' Highway7.3

Thieves' Highway

1949

The Barefoot Contessa6.8

The Barefoot Contessa

1954

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Filmography