Gina Lollobrigida |
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Gina Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927 in Subiaco, Italy), is a Golden Globe Award-winning Italian actress and photojournalist. She was one of Italy's most prominent actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Born Luigina Lollobrigida, she was one of four daughters of a furniture manufacturer (her sisters are Giuliana, Maria and Fernanda). She spent her youth in a picturesque mountain village. In her youth, Gina did some modelling, and from there she went to participate successfully in several beauty contests. At around this time, she began appearing in Italian language films. In 1947, Gina entered the Miss Italia pageant and came in 3rd place. The contest was won by Lucia Bosé and second place was Gianna Maria Canale - they would both go on to be actresses, though neither would come near Lollobrigida's success.
Her appearance in Italian films brought her to the attention of Hollywood and she made her first American film, Beat the Devil, in 1953. As her popularity increased, Lollobrigida earned the nickname The World's Most Beautiful Woman after her signature 1955 movie.