Mariangela Melato

Mariangela Melato (19 September 1941 – 11 January 2013) was an award-winning Italian cinema and theater actress. She won the David di Donatello for Best Actress four times between 1974 and 1981. Melato began her stage career in the 1960s. Her first film role was in Thomas e gli indemoniati (1969), directed by Pupi Avati. She acted in many memorable films during the 1970s and was praised for her roles in The Seduction of Mimi (1972), Love and Anarchy (1973), Nada (1974), Swept Away (1974), Todo modo (1976), Caro Michele (1976) and Il gatto (1978). Melato also starred in several English-language films, most notably as a villain in Flash Gordon (1980). She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71 in Rome. Biography and career