Elsa Martinelli
Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Life and career. Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953 she was discovered by Roberto Capucci who introduced her to the world of fashion. She became a model and began playing small roles in films. She appeared in Claude Autant-Lara's "Le Rouge et le Noir" (1954), but her first important film role came the following year with "The Indian Fighter" opposite Kirk Douglas, who claimed to have spotted her on  a magazine cover and hired her for his production company, Bryna Productions. Douglas subsequently signed her to a two pictures a year for two years non-exclusive contract with Bryna Productions in February 1956. She was loaned out from Bryna Productions to Universal-International Pictures in March 1956 for the film "Four Girls in Town". In 1956, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival for playing the title role in Mario Monicelli's "Donatella". From the mid-1950s through the late 1960s, she divided her time between Europe and the United States, appearing  in films such as "Four Girls in Town" (1957) with Julie Adams, "Manuela" (1957) with Trevor Howard, "Prisoner of the Volga" (1959) with John Derek, "Hatari!" (1962) with John Wayne, "The Pigeon That Took Rome" (1962) with Charlton Heston, "The Trial" (1962) directed by Orson Welles, "The V.I.P.s" (1963) with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, "Rampage" (1963) with Robert Mitchum, "Woman Times Seven" (1967) with Shirley MacLaine, and "Candy" (1968) with Marlon Brando. From the late 1960s, she worked in Europe in mostly foreign language productions. Her last English language role was as Carla the Agent in "Once Upon a  Crime" (1992) with John Candy. Her final acting appearance was in the 2005 European television series "Orgoglio" as the Duchessa di Monteforte. Personal life. Martinelli was first married to Count Franco Mancinelli Scotti di San Vito, by whom she had a daughter, Cristiana Mancinelli (born 1958), also an actress. In 1968, she married the "Paris Match" photographer and 1970s furniture designer, Willy Rizzo. Death. Martinelli died of cancer in Rome on 8 July 2017, at the age of 82.