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Gina Lollobrigida, the high-spirited actor who had dual careers in Hollywood and Europe but may be more fondly remembered in her native Italy for jump-starting an era of celebration and indulgence after years of warfare and oppression, has died. She was 95.
Forever beloved in her homeland, Lollobrigida died in Rome, the Italian news agency Lapresse said, quoting Tuscany Gov. Eugenio Giani. Lollobrigida was an honorary citizen of a Tuscan town.
The Associated Press said her agent also confirmed her death.
Lollobrigida had surgery in September for a broken thigh bone after a fall. She returned home and said she had quickly resumed walking.
Lollobrigida’s rise to stardom was rapid. She made movies in Europe and the U.S., signed a long-term Hollywood contract with Howard Hughes, starred alongside Yul Brynner, Frank Sinatra and Rock Hudson, kept company with Salvador Dali, Fidel Castro and pioneering heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard, and had a running drama-fest with countrywoman Sophia Loren, a rivalry so fierce one wondered whether there was enough oxygen in Italy for the two of them.
