Actor

2 series in the catalog

Anna Maria Massatani (30 June 1933 – 23 June 2025), known professionally as Lea Massari, was an Italian actress and singer. Her international breakout role as Anna in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura (1960) established her as an icon of European art cinema. She won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress twice, and was nominated for the David di Donatello for Best Actress once.

Early life

Massari was born Anna Maria Massatani in Rome, and was raised variously in Spain, France, and Switzerland. She originally studied architecture at university, while working as a model for costume and production designer Piero Gherardi. She adopted her stage name at the age of 22, after the sudden death of her fiancé Leo.

Career

Massari became known in art cinema for two roles: the missing girl Anna in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura (1960), and as Clara, the mother of a sexually precocious 14-year-old boy named Laurent (Benoît Ferreux) in Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart (1971). She began to receive critical acclaim in 1961 after her performance in A Difficult Life (Una vita difficile), directed by Dino Risi, earning her a special David di Donatello award.

Massari worked in both Italian and French cinema. Her career includes Sergio Leone's debut The Colossus of Rhodes (Il Colosso di Rodi, 1961) and international commercial films such as The Things of Life (Les choses de la vie, 1970).

Massari was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975.

Massari won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress award for her appearance in Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (Cristo si è fermato a Eboli, 1979).

Death

Massari died on 23 June 2025, one week before her 92nd birthday.