Strikingly beautiful Italian actress who began her career in the mid-1930s at the age of 15. Valli starred in mostly uninspired works until her temporary retirement in 1944, due to her refusal to appear in Fascist propaganda films (in 1945 her mother was shot as a collaborator). Following the war, Valli landed a contract with David O Selnzick, but her career did not really take off until her appearance as Harry Lime's faithful paramour in the Carol Reed classic "The Third Man" (1949). Often billed simply as "Valli", she shone in films including Visconti's "Senso" (1954), Henri Colpi's "Une Aussi longue absence" (1962), Bertolucci's "The Spider's Stratagem" (1970) and, more recently, in John Irvin's "A Month by the Lake" (1995).
- Also Credited As:
Alida Maria Altenburger, Valli
- Born:
May 31, 1921 in Pola, Italy
- Died:
April 22, 2006.
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Job Titles:
Actor
Family
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Son: Carlo De Mejo. born 1945; father, Oscar de Mejo
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Son: Larry De Mejo. father, Oscar De Mejo
Significant Others
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Husband: Giancarlo Zagni. met on the set of Senso (1954); married in the early 1960s; directed her in Ibsen s Rosmersholm and Pirandello s The Man, the Beast and Virtue ; divorced in the 70s
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Husband: Oscar De Mejo. married in 1944; divorced in 1952; wrote All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
Education
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Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome, Italy, drama
Milestones
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1936 Film debut, I Due Sergenti
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1947 First US film (for David O Selznick), The Paradine Case
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Career survived temporary setback as result of her involvement in a drug, sex and murder scandal involving her husband and his mistress in the mid-1950s