Masina, Giulia Anna

▪ 1995

      ("GIULIETTA"), Italian actress (b. Feb. 22, 1921, San Giorgio di Piano, near Bologna, Italy—d. March 23, 1994, Rome, Italy), was artistic muse, adviser, and frequent leading lady for her husband of 50 years, the acclaimed filmmaker Federico Fellini, who dedicated his body of work to her. Masina worked as a stage and radio actress while attending the University of Rome and made her professional debut in 1939. In 1942 she performed in a radio play by Fellini, whom she married the following year. Masina's first major screen role was as the ingenuous waif Gelsomina in Fellini's La Strada (1954; "The Road"). Three years later she won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of the naive prostitute in Le notti di Cabiria (The Nights of Cabiria). She also drew accolades for Il bidone (1955; The Swindle), Giulietta degli spiriti (1965; Juliet of the Spirits), and Ginger e Fred (1985; Ginger and Fred). She occasionally worked with other directors, notably Alberto Lattuada in Senza pietà (1948; Without Pity) and Roberto Rossellini in Europa '51 (1952; The Greatest Love). Masina succumbed to cancer less than five months after her husband's death.

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