Laura Antonelli

Laura Antonelli (née Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991.

Early years

Antonelli was born in Pola, Kingdom of Italy (today, Pula, Croatia), former capital of Istria. After the war, her parents fled what was then Yugoslavia, lived in Italian refugee camps and eventually settled in Naples, where her father found work as a hospital administrator. Antonelli had a childhood interest in mathematics, but as a teenager, she became proficient at gymnastics. In an interview for The New York Times, she recalled, "My parents had made me take hours of gym classes during my teens ... They felt I was ugly, clumsy, insignificant and they hoped I would at least develop some grace. I became very good, especially in rhythmical gym, which is a kind of dance."

Setting aside ambitions to make a career in mathematics, she graduated as a gymnastics instructor. She moved to Rome, where she became a secondary-school gym teacher and was able to meet people in the entertainment industry, who helped her find modelling jobs. She appeared in a number of sex farces such as Till Marriage Do Us Part (1974).

She worked in more serious films, as well, including Luchino Visconti's last film, The Innocent (1976). In Wifemistress, a romance film of 1977, she played a repressed wife experiencing a sexual awakening. Later, she appeared in Passion of Love (1981). From 1986 she mostly worked on Italian television series. Antonelli's final film role was in the sequel Malizia 2000 (1991), following which she retired. She won the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Award, Nastro d'Argento, in 1974 for Malizia. Personal life

Antonelli was married to publisher Enrico Piacentini; they later divorced.

In 1991, Antonelli was convicted of possession and dealing of cocaine and sentenced to house arrest. In 2006, the conviction was overturned by the Italian court of appeals, who ordered the Ministry of Justice to pay the actress 108,000 euros.

Antonelli died in Ladispoli on 22 June 2015, aged 73, from a heart attack.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1964 The Magnificent Cuckold Uncredited appearanceGuest with a Beehive Hairdo at the Artusis 1965 16 Year Olds 1966 Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs Rosanna 1967 Pardon, Are You For or Against? Piera Conforti 1968 La Rivoluzione sessuale Liliana 1969 Detective Belli Franca Uncredited appearance 1969 The Archangel Elena Uncredited appearance 1969 Venus in Furs Wanda von Dunajew 1970 A Man Called Sledge Ria 1970 Bali Daria 1970 Gradiva Gradiva 1971 The Married Couple of the Year Two Pauline de Guérandes 1971 Without Apparent Motive Juliette Vaudreuil 1971 Secret Fantasy Costanza Vivaldi 1972 The Eroticist Sister Delicata 1972 Dr. Popaul Martine Dupont 1973 How Funny Can Sex Be? Madame Juliette ("Madam, it's eight o'clock")Celestina ("Two hearts and a shack")Enrico's Wife ("It's never too late")Grazia ("Honeymoon trip")Tamara ("Come back my little one")The Nun ("Italian worker abroad")Donna Mimma Maccò ("Revenge")Tiziana ("The guest") 1973 Malicious (aka Malizia) Angela Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress 1974 Lovers and Other Relatives Laura 1974 Simona Simona 1974 Till Marriage Do Us Part Eugenia di Maqueda 1975 The Divine Nymph Manoela Roderighi 1976 The Innocent Giuliana Hermil 1977 Wifemistress Antonia De Angelis 1977 Tre scimmie d'oro 1977 Black Journal Sandra 1979 Tigers in Lipstick The Wife / The Businesswoman 1979 Hypochondriac Tonina 1979 Inside Laura Antonelli 1980 I'm Getting a Yacht Roberta 1981 Passion of Love Clara 1981 Il turno Stellina 1981 Chaste and Pure Rosa Di Maggio 1982 Porca vacca Mariana 1982 Sesso e volentieri Carla De Dominicis / Supermarket client / The Princess 1982 Viuuulentemente mia Anna Tassotti 1985 Slices of Life Monica Belli 1985 The Trap Marie Colbert 1986 The Venetian Woman Angela 1986 Grandi magazzini Elèna Anzellotti 1987 Rimini Rimini Noce Bove 1987 Roba da ricchi Mapi Petruzzelli Segment II 1989 Disperatamente Giulia Carmen Milkovič 1990 The Miser Frosina 1991 Malizia 2000 Angela final film role

TV appearances (1988) (miniseries) as Lisa Disperatamente Giulia (1989) (miniseries) as Carmen Milkovich