Italy’s pioneering comic actor Franca Valeri is no more.
The 100-year-old actress pioneered female comic roles in Italy’s post-war years and helped the nation laugh.
The news was shared by her daughter, Stefania Bonfadelli, an opera singer. She informed that Franca Valeri died on Sunday in her sleep at her home in Rome, nine days after her 100th birthday.
Franca will be honoured at a theater in the Italian capital, Rome’s City Hall.
The Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent a condolence message, praising Valeri as a “versatile and popular actress who will remain in the hearts of Italians for her great talent and her extraordinary likability.”
Beloved by Italians, especially for her roles in the 1950s to the 1970s, first on radio, then on TV and in movies, Valeri was recently toasted by many celebrities and in interviews as her 100th birthday approached.
For 100 years of the actress, even the President of the Republic had wished her good wishes: Sergio Mattarella, in offering her his best wishes for this significant milestone, thanked Valeri for his funny, polite and unforgettable presence in the world of theater and television.
Of Jewish origin, Franca Valeri was not alone a comedian and an actress, because over the years she has also become known as a writer and author of books and comedies. Among the unforgettable roles of the artist, “Signorina Snob” and “Sora Cecioni”.
