Virna Lisi (born September 8, 1937) is a Cannes and César award-winning Italian film actress.
Lisi was born in Ancona, Marche, as Virna Lisa Pieralisi.
Virna Lisi began her film career in her teens. She was discovered by two Neapolitan producers (Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce) in Paris. Her debut was in La corda d'acciaio (The line of steel, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like in E Napoli canta (Napoli sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (1954, with the popular Totò). Nonetheless, soon Virna Lisi became a figure whose beauty was more valued than her talent, like in Le diciottenni and Lo scapolo films of 1955. Still, she incarnated demanding roles, particularly in La Donna del Giorno (1956), Eva (1962), and the Italian-made spectacle Romolo e Remo (1961).
In the late 1950s, Lisi did theater at Piccolo Teatro di Milano, in I giacobini by Federico Zardi, under the direction of Giorgio Strehler. During the 1960s, Virna Lisi did comedies and, also, she participated in dramatic television productions which were of the most viewed in Italy. Also in television Lisi was the figure who promoted a toothpaste brand, with a slogan which would become a catchphrase amongst the Italians: "con quella bocca può dire ciò che vuole" (with such mouth, she can say whatever she wants).
