Actress Monica Vitti — Remembered as the 'Queen of Italian Cinema' — Dead at 90

Photo: Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty

Monica Vitti, an award-winning actress known for her decades of work in Italian movies, has died at age 90.

Dario Franceschini, Italy’s Minister of Culture, confirmed the news in astatementWednesday, saying, “Farewell to Monica Vitti, farewell to the queen of Italian cinema. Today is a really sad day, a great artist and a great Italian disappeared.”

Walter Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome, alsotweetedan announcement early Wednesday morning. PerVariety, the translated post reads: “Roberto Russo, her companion in these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no more. I do so with great grief, affection, and nostalgia.”

According toThe New York Times, Vitti began dating filmmaker Russo in 1975 and they married in 1995.

Vitti famously starred in director Michelangelo Antonioni’s filmsL’Avventura(1960),La Notte(1961) andL’Eclisse(1962), and they collaborated again on 1964’sRed Desert.

Monica Vitti in 1992.FocKan/WireImage

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The star earned a BAFTA Award nomination forL’Avventura, and at the Italian Golden Globes in 2000, she received a career achievement award. Vitti was also honored with a Career Golden Lion at the 1995 Venice Film Festival.

Vitti made two English-language films, according toVariety: 1966’sModesty Blaiseand 1979’sAn Almost Perfect Affair. She also wrote, directed and starred in 1990’sSecret Scandal.

source: people.com