Gina Lollobrigida Refutes Her Age by Looking Just as Brilliant at 91 as She Did in Her Youth
Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, the sex symbol of the 50s and 60s, now a nonagenarian and still getting praise for her looks and grace.
Born Luigina in 1927 to a simple family in Subiaco, Italy, she enjoyed her life with three other sisters. She joined many beauty contests as a teenager and began taking minor roles in films. After entering the Miss Italia pageant, she received national exposure.
Happy Birthday Gina Lollobrigida!! xx pic.twitter.com/Xq5HVQGbl7
— The Cinema Museum (@CinemaMuseum) July 4, 2013
Her mother had a hand in encouraging her to accept more roles on film, but she really wanted a career in the arts as a sculptor or opera singer.
Gina Lollobrigida explains her tabloid feud with Sophia Loren http://t.co/INPOcCXCmt pic.twitter.com/ePW6KJteOI
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 27, 2015
Her ease on camera and stand out beauty made her successful in her early projects, quickly rising into leading roles in movies such as “Fearless Little Soldier” with the well-known French actor Gerard Philippe, bringing her forward on the international scene.
Pretty soon Hollywood took notice, and she was quickly cast in a movie with Humphrey Bogart called “Beat the Devil.” The smitten Bogart was heard saying that Gina made “Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple.”
Beat the Devil premiered in London on this day in 1953. Directed by John Huston, the film starred Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida (who just turned 91 and still looks great!). Filmed as a film noir spoof, it is generally considered the first “camp” film. pic.twitter.com/UIJ98bRJ4B
— BogartEstate (@HumphreyBogart) November 25, 2018
More leading men came her way as she starred with the likes of Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, and Burt Lancaster. But just as in her youth, she was also known to refuse roles, co-stars, and scripts. She reasoned,
“I was successful very early. I never had to ask for what I wanted.”
She continued,
“I had more publicity than anyone because I refused it -- I didn’t care about it.”
"A woman at 20 is like ice, at 30 she is warm and at 40 she is hot." - Gina Lollobrigida
— Vogue.fr (@VogueParis) March 15, 2019
---> https://t.co/soPFVsWOax
© Getty pic.twitter.com/IOfg5J3kHB
And the attention she received from a long line of men was handled in the same manner as well. She was able to turn down many rich and influential men. She married a much older man, a physician named Milko Skofic from Slovenia. They had a son together whom they called Andrea Milko.
Gina Lollobrigida with her son Milko on the set of Come September (1961) pic.twitter.com/HLfvhaOxNy
— Conrad J. Barrington (@cjubarrington) March 15, 2019
When asked about the success story that is her life, the actress, who also became a successful photojournalist and sculptor shared that while she began her film career out of duty to her family who lost everything after the war, she learned to love the art and all the privileges it brought to her personally.
Legendary Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida arrives on the red carpet near Piazza di Spagna in Rome for her 90th birthday celebrations pic.twitter.com/paUCBW2iOx
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 5, 2017
She also shared her view on working,
“I’ve been really working my entire life. I’m still working. I guess that is the secret. Keep your brain active… Because life is precious. And even now where there aren’t so many good situations in the world, I just feel that as long as I work, I’m alive.”