Gina Lollobrigida: what the 90-year-old actress who conquered the world in the 50s looks like now

Brief biography and personal life

Gina Lollobrigida (a photo of the actress in her youth is published below in the article) was born in July 1927 in the Roman town of Subiaco in the family of a furniture factory worker and a housewife. The rare beauty of the future actress attracted attention from early childhood, and at the age of 3 she helped little Luigina win a children's beauty contest.

The little beauty, distinguished not only by her beautiful and unusual face, but also by her rare talent, became a child of war, forced to constantly run away from bombs falling from the sky. In an attempt to earn money for food, the girl became an artist-model, painting on the streets and offering her services in crowded places.

In the post-war years, the future actress fulfilled her childhood dream by enrolling first at the Academy of St. Cecilia, and then at the theater school, where she studied vocals, dramatic skills and improvisation.

The unusual beauty of the young student attracts directors, who trust the talented girl with small roles in plays, and spend the first money she earns on acting classes. A talented girl who enthusiastically sells her drawings dreams of a career as an opera singer or sculptor, but fate gives her another surprise.

Appearing on the set of the film “Black Eagle” in order to sell several of her works, the girl impresses Ricardo Fredom and gets a small role in his film.

In 1947, Gina participates in the Miss Italy competition, where she takes second place, losing only to Lucia Bosa, who also later became an actress, and then appears in “Elixir of Love”, “Crazy about the Opera” and “Pagliacci”, where he performs not only the role, but also the vocal part.

Gina, who has become Italy’s favorite actress, stars in “Fanfan-Tulip”, reincarnating as a beautiful gypsy who predicted military glory and a royal wife for Gerard Philippe’s hero.
The success that followed the release of the film slightly shook the young film actress’s confidence in the right choice of profession, and subsequent work in “Passport to the East” finally convinced her to concentrate on filming and abandon, at least for a while, the dream of fame as a singer and sculptor.

Work in “One Night Stand” and “Defending City” paved the way for the Italian film star to Hollywood, where Gina starred in “Shame of the Devil,” “Bread, Love and Fantasy” and “Trapezium.”

At the beginning of 1956, the actress had the honor of becoming part of the legendary “Notre Dame Cathedral” and playing the role of Esmeralda , , which became iconic and beloved in the Lollo film collection.
Her beautiful gypsy, resting in the arms of Anthony Quinn, who performed Quasimodo, became a real symbol of femininity and beauty, and also brought the actress the Prize of Belle Literature, presented by the French Ministry of Culture.

The same year, the actress starred in “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World,” where she fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an opera singer. Gina performed all the solo parts from “Tosca” that were performed in the film independently, for which she received an Italian award from David di Donatello.

In 1959, the movie star became part of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba , for which Lollobrigida and her partner Yul Brynner received many awards, this time from American cinema.
Having become incredibly popular, the actress gained the right to choose the films in which she would like to play and reject offers to participate in action films and stupid romance novels.

Over the next 20 years, Gina’s film collection was replenished with works:

• in "Imperial Venus";
• in "Stormy Sea";
• in "Beautiful November";
• in "King, Queen and Jack";
• in Come September.

The actress, who was actively acting in Europe and the USA in the 70s of the last century, almost ended her career, characterizing her decision by saying that each new role should not repeat what was previously achieved, but be much better than the previous one.
So in the 70s, the actress appeared only in “Mortal Sin”, and then devoted her time to her long-loved sculpture and photojournalism. In 1973, Gina released her first album of photographs, where she presented photographs of famous actors, as well as the Italian national football team, and a year later her figurine “Girl with a Pearl in Her Hand” became the opening of an international festival.

In 1976, the actress decided to try on the director's chair, making a documentary about Cuba, for which she personally interviewed Fidel Castro.

The film star’s sculptures were repeatedly exhibited in the best museums in the world, and in 2003, the actress organized an exhibition at the Moscow Pushkin Museum, which was visited not only by city residents, but also by guests of the capital.

In addition to her work, Gina Lollobrigida devotes a lot of time to charity, and is also an ambassador for UNICEF and UNESCO. The actress shows concern for animals not only in international communities, but also in her own estate, where she contains about 600 species of different birds, many of which the actress picked up dying right on the streets of Italy.

In honor of the 90th anniversary of the Italian star, the government ordered a carpet to be laid out in the center of Rome, and then organized a large reception. Gina herself prepared a new collection of sculptures for her anniversary, the money from the sale of which she donated to charity.

The actress calls her age “interesting” and believes that this is far from the limit, since her aunt managed to live to 113 years old, so the movie star has something to strive for.

The actress's love affairs were no less eventful than her film career, although Gina herself was never known for her frivolity. In 1949, the movie star married for the first and only time, to a doctor from Yugoslavia, Milko Skotic, with whom she lived for about 22 years and gave birth to her only son, named after his father.

In the photo - Gina Lollobrigida with her husband, Yugoslav doctor Milko Skotic

In 1971, the marriage broke up, and 7 years later, the actress’s ex-husband died tragically in a plane crash. Having become free, the movie star began an affair with Frank Sinatra, followed by Yul Brynner and George Kaufman. Gina was also credited with having a relationship with Yuri Gagarin, but the movie star herself never confirmed the rumors.

At the age of 50, the actress began an affair with 20-year-old Javier Ragu, a young architect, with whom she lived together for about 20 years, but shortly before the official wedding she suddenly changed her mind.

Offended by his girlfriend, 6 years later Javier illegally registered the marriage, which caused a strong scandal and litigation caused by Gina, who believed that the young gigolo wanted to pocket her money.

In 2014, the son of movie star Milko went to court with a demand to recognize his mother as incompetent and thus save the family fortune from an assassination attempt by young lovers, but the judge did not satisfy the plaintiff’s demands. Offended by her son Gene, she dedicated her life to her beloved grandson Dimitri, in whom she saw her true continuation.

Personal life of the actress

She got married at twenty-two: her husband was Milko Skofic, a doctor from Yugoslavia. The son was also named Milko. The love was strong, passionate, but, sighs JoeInfoMedia journalist Diana Lynn, apparently, it couldn’t stand the test of Gina’s career... They broke up. Gina then had a lot of fans - even Frank Sinatra himself. Even Yuri Gagarin admired her beauty and was extremely attracted to her!

The media wrote not long ago that Gina, at her age, was supposedly going to marry a Spanish businessman named Javier Rigau. Lollbrigida was terribly offended and even sued the Spaniard! She was accused of marriage fraud. And no one ever found out how the trial ended: Gina is quite secretive in matters of her personal life.

Shape Options

Gina Lollobrigida (photos of the actress in her youth can be found on the Internet, as well as in numerous magazines) is considered a real standard of beauty, elegance and a symbol of the sultry Mediterranean coast.

The luxurious figure of the black-haired star with an incredible thin waist of 53-59 cm and a voluminous bust earned the movie star the title of “Sex Symbol”, and also became the envy of many women, among whom was the legendary film actress, Sophia Loren.

Figure parameters:

Career of Gina Lollobrigida

As Gina later recalled, director Vittorio De Sica convinced her to connect her life with cinema.
She gained popularity in Italy by starring in the musical films “Elisir of Love” and “Crazy about Opera” by Mario Costa. And the result of working in his own “Pagliacci” was the end of financial problems - she signed a good contract.

Figure of Gina Lollobrigida

Lollobrigida's next film work was “Passaporto per l'oriente” (“Passport to the East”), after which the girl decided to temporarily stop painting and singing and concentrate on cinema. Gradually she began to be cast in leading roles (“Bride for One Night”, “Beware of Bandits!”, “The City is Defended”).

The French film “Fanfan-Tulip” with Gerard Philippe brought Gina worldwide recognition of her talent. It was so successful that it won awards at film festivals in Cannes and Berlin, and also, according to film market experts, led to the end of the financial crisis in French cinema.

Gina Lollobrigida: life story In 1953, the film actress was invited to Hollywood. Her first work overseas was the film “Defeat the Devil” with Jennifer Jones and Humphrey Bogart (named the best actor in US history by the Academy). Then she worked with such celebrities as Burt Lancaster (“Trapeze”), Frank Sinatra (“So Few Never”), Yul Brynner (“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”), Rock Hudson (“Come September”).

How did you change in your youth?

In her youth, Gina Lollobrigida, considered a real sex symbol and the ideal of Mediterranean beauty, was always rightfully proud of her luxurious, ideal hourglass figure with an incredibly thin waist, reaching 53-59 cm, which contrasted so advantageously with a lush bust and hips.

Fitted dresses with a deep neckline and lacy lace stockings made the movie star an idol of millions and a real idol of Italian cinema of the last century.

Over time, the film actress, who left the set early, took up her favorite sculpture, to which she added a passion for photography, but did not lose her beautiful form.

Having a negative attitude towards plastic surgery and preferring, like many stars of the last century, to age gracefully, the movie star, at the age of 60, retained her previous shape, still appearing on red carpets and official appearances in dresses with crinoline and a deep neckline.

Experimenting with hairstyles and hair colors, Gina has been a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, but has never changed her love for bright colors, minimal makeup and lace lingerie.

Age-related changes overtook the actress’s figure only at the age of 70, adding age-related ptosis and increased weight to the wrinkles that appeared on her face.

The change in appearance did not at all puzzle the former idol of millions, who noted that she considered her age quite interesting and continued to do what she loved and have affairs with young men.

Now at 92 years old, Gina Lollobrigida is still full of strength, and although the past years have left their mark on her face and figure, they could not change the cheerful and strong-willed character of the movie star, as well as her passion for her favorite sculpture, which the movie actress calls the secret of her youth .

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The invitation of the Italian actress to the French comedy was due to the fact that the sponsors of the film were Italians, and this was a great success for Gina Lollobrigida.

She quickly found a common language with the film crew, despite the fact that she did not speak French.

“Gerard not only helped me, but also did everything to give me back my confidence during filming. He spent many hours of his free time teaching me French. After “Fanfan-Tulip” my shares rose, and since then I have been saying that Gerard Philip brought me happiness…” the actress recalled.

The success of the film was dizzying, it received awards at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, and Gina Lollobrigida’s photos began to adorn the covers of many glossy publications.

Plastic

Gina Lollobrigida (photos of the actress in her youth can be seen in the footage of “Fanfan-Tulip” and “Notre Dame Cathedral”, which are still regularly featured in glossy publications) comes from the Subiaco mountains, from where girls of unearthly beauty are said to appear.

The luxurious appearance of the actress, which has become a symbol of Mediterranean chic, elegance and style, is a direct confirmation of this.

The movie star, who has reached 92 years of age, is not at all afraid of aging, noting that at 20 years old a woman is cold, at 30 years old she is temperamental, and hot only after 40 years. The actress diligently maintained her title as the main sex symbol and the first beauty of cinema in competitions with the French “Angelique” Michelle Mercier and the Italian queen Sophia Loren.

The actress, who has never resorted to plastic surgery, several times pointed out with a grin the shortcomings of her rivals, who were trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to take her place on the beauty pedestal.

In the era of the 60s of the last century, when plastic surgery was rare and was considered practically unacceptable for actresses, there were rumors that Michelle Mercier, who looked very similar to the Italian movie star, tried to replicate the natural beauty of the curve of Gina’s lips with the help of plastic surgery.

The film actress's eternal rival, Sophia Loren, called the bust of Lollobrigida a silicone creation. Recognized for her incredibly large breasts, La Lolla, the actress, in response to accusations of plastic surgery, which was considered completely unacceptable for actors in the 50s of the last century, invited Sophia Loren to undress and compare the merits and beauty of her breasts.

Lauren refused to compete, and Gina insured her legendary bust against sagging and loss of elasticity for $1 million. Every year, according to the contract, the insurance company agent had to measure the actress’s breasts from the beginning to the nipples and write down the result in a special column.

The movie star received the insurance premium only at the age of 70, for which she laid out her magnificent garden.

Rising Star and Awards

While still a three-year-old baby, Luigina received the high title of the most beautiful child in Italy . However, even after that she was brought up in strictness, not considering herself better than others. She was born on July 4, 1927 into a family of furniture makers in Lazio (Italy). Mom and grandmother were undisputed authorities for the girl, and initially they were sure that Lollo, along with her three sisters, would become nuns. Fortunately, such plans were not destined to come true.

Gina set foot on the road to fame in 1947, taking part in two major competitions at once: Miss Rome and Miss Italy . The girl took only second place, but immediately received a lot of interesting offers, which played a significant role in the life of the actress.

The most famous films with her participation are “Fanfan-Tulip”, “Notre-Dame de Paris” and, of course, so corresponding to her internationally recognized status “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World”. Played more than 60 roles in films.

Gina Lollobrigida as Esmeralda

After this, the beauty seriously took up photo reporting, and then sculpture . It is also surprising that the results of the latest hobby have become recognized works of art.

Important! Gina Lollobrigida is a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, as well as a Knight of the Legion of Honor and an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. She is a Henrietta Award winner.

Beauty secrets

Gina Lollobrigida (the photo of the actress in her youth became a symbol of true Italian beauty and sensuality) was never afraid of old age, and calls her age of 92 “interesting.” According to the movie star, a person grows old only when he has nothing to do, and this does not threaten her at all, because she has a favorite photograph and sculpture.

Like a true Italian, the actress happily took care of her appearance, trying not only to preserve, but also to increase the natural qualities that were so necessary among the ideal beauties of Italy and France around her.

According to the actress, the main cosmetics is love, it is she who allows you to look beautiful , and also, according to the actress, for a beautiful face and good skin color, you need to adhere to a daily routine and get proper rest.

Makeup

According to Gina Lollobrigida, a woman is a fragile flower that blooms with love and dries up if you don’t care for it enough . In her makeup, the actress preferred to adhere to the principle of minimalism, trying to focus on the eyes or lips.

The actress tried to emphasize her eyes with a thin liner, and then with the help of shadows to give the alluring look of Bambi the deer, and for her lips she used only bright colorful lipstick, creating the effect of a sensual and sexy mouth. The actress created eyebrows that were graceful, but not too thin, giving them the shape of a beautiful, slightly raised house.

Hairstyle

Thanks to Gina, the “Lollo” hairstyle came into fashion, becoming a real hit in hairdressing and looking like a neat hair styling of medium length.

During her career, the actress changed her style several times, having been a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead, but she was able to achieve real success thanks to her natural dark hair color, placed in a medium-length style.

Diet

Like a true Italian, Gina, nicknamed Lollo, hated diets, preferring to eat whatever she liked 5 times a week. For the last 2 days, the actress left her body to unload, during which the movie star adhered to a very strict, almost minimal diet, which allowed her to completely cleanse her body and lose weight.

The diet of the actress on fasting days:

The actress has been eating this way for more than 60 years, and judging by her appearance, it allows her to perfectly maintain her body shape.

Style

The actress's style is light, fitted dresses with a breathtaking neckline, light makeup and openwork, sexy bangs, which brought the movie star worldwide popularity.

Even at the age of 92, the actress tries to dress fashionably and elegantly, preferring bright colors, deep necklines and figure-flattering styles.

The movie star’s favorite was the “New Look” style created by Yves Saint Laurent, which was a dress with a crinoline that fit exactly to the figure, perfectly emphasizing the waistline. This image perfectly matched the style of a movie star and contributed to the formation of a gentle and defenseless female image.

Another hit of the actress was the red underwear demonstrated by Gina in one of the films. Having introduced this style into fashion, the actress became a pioneer and symbol of true, natural sexuality for millions of men.

The actress always noted that she hates choosing clothes for a long time, and if she sees a dress or shoes that suit her, she immediately buys the shoes and takes clothes one size smaller.

Jewelry

The movie star simply loves jewelry and is the owner of a huge collection of jewelry made from large emeralds. Despite her love for luxury, Gina tries not to show off her jewelry, preferring to wear something less flashy in public.

In 1976, during an interview with Fidel Castro, the politician really liked the actress’s diamond watch, which he even offered to exchange for his own accessory.

Achievements and interesting facts

Photographs of young Gina Lollobrigida became a symbol of true Italian charm and beauty and repeatedly appeared on the pages of leading glossy publications.

The actress, who starred in 80 films during her film career, became:

• 3-time nominee and winner of the Golden Globe Award;
• 2-time winner of the Screen Actors Guild Award;
• winner of the Berlin and Cannes festivals.

Interesting facts about Gina Lollobrigida:

1. The actress's real name is Luigina, and her nickname is Lollo, transferred because of the large bust of the movie star in La Lollo.
2. The actress was the 4th child in a family of 4 girls, each of whom became the personification of the beauty of the Italian mountains.
3. After the war, the girl was forced to work as a model artist, painting portraits of passers-by right on the street or in shops.
4. Gina never wanted to become an actress. Her dreams and hobbies were opera singing and sculpture, and her acting career began quite by accident.
5. In 2013, the actress auctioned off her luxurious emerald jewelry and donated all the proceeds to a stem cell research fund.
6. The actress insured her legendary bust against ptosis for $1 million, and received insurance only at the age of 70.
7. Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tals, before landing his troops in 1983, gave the order not to kill Italian soldiers for the sake of the actress.
8. The actress repeatedly noted that although she had many affairs, men did not offer her marriage, because they like to meet beautiful people, but marry humble and flexible people, that is, those who have qualities that are not characteristic of her.
9. According to Gina, a woman’s age can be easily determined by the words of her friends and boyfriends. So, to get an accurate figure, the actress advised subtracting 7 years from the age called by other women and adding 5 to the figure called by men.
10. According to the movie star's observations, very rich men are usually very stingy.

Gina Lollobrigida is a symbol of Italian cinema and a sex symbol of the 20th century, whose beauty in her youth drove millions of men crazy and was the subject of attraction not only for ordinary women, but also for leading film actresses.

She considered girls to be beautiful flowers, an incredibly beautiful and talented actress, whose photographs could be found in all glossy publications, played a huge number of wonderful film roles, but always dreamed of doing sculpture, a passion for which gave her happiness and eternal youth.

Interesting facts about Gin

She once insured... her bust. Every year a person from the insurance company measured the distance from the navel to, in fact, the chest, and when this gap reached a critical point, according to the terms of the contract, Gina received insurance. And with this money she built her famous garden with birds.

And she once weighed fifty kilograms with an average height of one meter sixty-five, and therefore she had a wasp waist - an unfortunate fifty-nine centimeters. And wide hips, a figure like a guitar. Who hasn't dreamed of Gina's appearance? However, her photos at the current age seem to hint that it’s not a sin to dream about Gina’s appearance even now - so that we all look like this at ninety, and all that!..

And finally, the most beautiful phrase said by Gina Lollobrigida sounded like this: The best cosmetics is love. By the way, she collects jewelry. Also a version of cosmetics, what can I say. So we wish you to be able to love in such a way that you end up beautiful and happy, like Gina Lollobrigida!