Nowadays, Valentina Cortese has become a topic of great relevance and interest in different areas. From politics to science, culture and technology, Valentina Cortese has captured the attention of millions of people around the world. Its implications are profound and its influence is felt in every aspect of daily life. In this article, we will take a closer look at the different facets of Valentina Cortese and how it has impacted our society. From its origins to its contemporary evolution, we will delve into an area of knowledge or an aspect of reality that leaves no one indifferent. Join us on this tour of Valentina Cortese and discover everything behind this phenomenon.
Cortese was born in Milan to a single mother and raised in the countryside, before being sent to Turin to live with her maternal grandparents in 1930. After meeting conductor Victor de Sabata, then married with children and 31 years her senior, she quit high school and followed him to Rome, where she enrolled at (and later graduated from) the National Academy of Dramatic Arts (Accademia d'arte drammatica). She first appeared on stage before receiving a contract at Scalera Film in 1941 and giving her film debut with a small role in L'orizzonte dipinto.
Cortese's first important film roles were in Roma Città Libera (1946), Les Misérables and The Wandering Jew (both 1948). 1948 also saw the end of her relationship with de Sabata. Her appearance in the British production The Glass Mountain (1949) led to numerous roles in international productions, including Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway (1949), opted by her then-partner Dassin over the originally cast Shelley Winters, and Robert Wise's The House on Telegraph Hill (1951). In 1951, she married her The House on Telegraph Hill co-star Richard Basehart, with whom she returned to Italy. Cortese continued to appear in national and international productions; the most notable of this era include Joseph Mankiewicz's The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and Michelangelo Antonioni's Le Amiche (1955). For the latter, she received the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress.
While her later films were mostly of lesser artistic interest, Cortese was continuously successful on stage, working with Giorgio Strehler, with whom she had a long-lasting relationship, Franco Zeffirelli,Luchino Visconti and Patrice Chéreau. In 1980, she married industrialist Carlo De Angeli. Her last film was Zeffirelli's 1993 Sparrow.
Cortese died on 10 July 2019, aged 96. In 2017, Francesco Patierno documented her life in the film Diva!, based on her 2012 autobiography Quanti sono i domani passati ("How many tomorrows have gone by").