‘Most beautiful woman in world’ Gina Lollobrigida has died

Actress Gina Lollobrigida, one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 60s, has died in a Rome clinic aged 95, Italian news agency Ansa has reported. She was once described as “the most beautiful woman in the world” with her film roles including Crossed Swords (1954), the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) and Beautiful But Dangerous (1955).

Throughout her career she co-starred alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson and Errol Flynn.

She was regarded as an international sex symbol and, at the time of her death, Lollobrigida was among the last living actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

When her acting career slowed down, Gina became a photojournalist in the 1970s and famously secured an interview with Cuban politician Fidel Castro.

She also had a career in politics. In 1999, Lollobrigida unsuccessfully ran for election to the European Parliament as a candidate for the Italian Democrats.

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During the height of her acting career she had an infamous rivalry with fellow Italian bombshell, Sophia Loren, 88.

In a 2017 interview with Corriere della Sera, Gina ranked their decades-long feud among the greatest of Italian rivalries, along with “cycling” and “opera”.

She said: “I was not looking for any rivalry against anyone; I was the number one.

“I succeeded only thanks to myself, without any producer supporting me. I did everything alone,” she said, seemingly taking aim at Sophia Loren’s late husband and producer Carlo Ponti.

Tributes have been flooding in for the iconic star. Antonio Banderas penned: “A great legend of Italian cinema leaves us. Rest in peace.”

Giulio Base added: “Hi Gina. The last ‘diva’ goes with you. RIP.”

A user named Sabina echoed: “RIP to the beautiful Luigia ‘Gina’ Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023). Actress, photojournalist, sex symbol, politician, star.”

And Matthew wrote: “Saddened by the news that we’ve lost Gina Lollobrigida, but that was an exceptional innings (1927-2023). On the plus side, it’s really fun to say (and hear) her name and people will be doing that a lot today.”