Silvana Mangano was born on April 21, 1930, in Rome, Italy, and grew up in poverty during World War II. She trained as a dancer for seven years and supported herself as a model before pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
In 1946, at the age of 16, Mangano won the Miss Rome beauty pageant, which led to her first film role in a Maria Della Costa film. The following year, she participated in the Miss Italia contest, where she met other future stars of Italian cinema, including Gina Lollobrigida, Eleonora Rossi Drago, and Gianna Maria Canale.
Mangano's early connection to filmmaking came through her romantic relationship with actor Marcello Mastroianni, which led to a film contract. However, it took her some time to rise to international stardom, which she achieved with her role in Bitter Rice (1949). She then signed a contract with Lux Film and went on to appear in a number of films, including Anna (1951),The Gold of Naples (1954),Mambo (1954),Teorema (1968),Death in Venice (1971),and The Scopone Game (1972).
Mangano was married to film producer Dino De Laurentiis from 1949 until their separation in 1983. The couple had four children together: Veronica, Raffaella, Francesca, and Federico. Veronica's daughter Giada is a well-known chef and television personality, while Raffaella co-produced with her father on Mangano's penultimate film, the science fiction epic Dune (1984).
In her later years, Mangano abandoned her career and moved to Paris and Madrid, where she focused on creating tapestries. She died on December 16, 1989, at the age of 59, due to complications from lung cancer.
