Once known for her risqué roles, Italian actress Laura Antonelli has passed away .
Her cleaner found her body a day later. Antonelli was 73 and authorities have chalked up her death brought on by a heart attack.
Laura Antonelli, once an icon of Italian cinema, passed away at her home in Ladispoli. Though the exact time of her death is still being ascertained, her housekeeper discovered her body on Monday morning. Though once a successful actress, Laura Antonelli lived out her last days in a rather modest apartment northwest of the Italian capital. She had very little contact with the outside world and even her son wasn’t on cordial terms, after Antonelli had sued him and her previous housekeeper for allegedly misappropriating funds.
Laura Antonelli had lived a life full of ups and downs, including an escape at a very young age to Italy from Croatia. She soon found solace in gymnastics, but moved to Rome to pursue a modeling career. Antonelli experienced stardom by starring in Mario Bava’s cult comedy Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs in 1966. However, it was her performance in Salvatore Sampieri’s Malice that won her a Nastro d’Argento award in 1974.
The actress was quite bold for her time as she stripped nude in front of the camera in The Divine Nymph , which was simply unheard of at the time. She would offer moving performances as Giuliana in Luchino Visconti’s The Innocent and Clara in Ettore Scola’s Passion of Love .
The eighties was her high time, where Laura Antonelli starred in erotic films and comedies. She then moved on to television miniseries. The ever experimenting actress appeared in over 40 films throughout her career, working against such acclaimed actors like Terence Stamp and Marcello Mastroianni.
However, Antonelli’s life turned quite tragic after her arrest in 1991 for possession of cocaine in her home in Cerveteri. She was prosecuted not just for consumption, but for dealing in dangerous narcotics as well. Though Antonelli fought the law bravely and even won an acquittal, the incident robbed nine years of her life. More misfortune laid in her future, as a botched cosmetic surgery left her face disfigured. Another lengthy court trial left her an emotional wreck.
In the recent years, the once cheerful Laura Antonelli receded from public life. Her close confidant actor Lino Banfi appealed unsuccessfully to the state to help relieve her economic troubles. One of her final statements to the world before completely withdrawing herself was:
“Earthly life no longer interests me.”
It is commonly acknowledged that Laura Antonelli battled depression and solitude and tried to find solace in religion and seclusion.
[Image Credit | Rino Petrosino, Getty Images]
