This Italian actress was just as beautiful, talented and popular as Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Anna Magnani. According to the recollections of directors and actors, her main difference from other movie stars of that time was her incredible acting talent, combined with the simplicity of an ordinary girl. The famous American actor Paul Newman called Pierre Angeli the most beautiful Italian actress. Her directors were not able to fully appreciate the talent.
Childhood and youth
The real name of the actress is Anna Maria Pierangeli. She was born in the city of Cagliari on June 19, 1932 together with her twin sister Maria Louise (actress, known under the pseudonym Marisa Pavan). When the girls were three years old, their father, Luigi Pierangeli, an architect by education, got a decent job in Rome, where the whole family moved after him. The girls' mother, Enrica Romati, who once dreamed about the stage, decided to realize her dreams in children. Therefore, Anna and her sister, in addition to studying at school, took painting, vocals and piano lessons, studied French and were engaged in choreography. Even after the birth of the third daughter, who was named Patricia, Enrica's interest did not switch to the baby. She continued to engage daily with older girls, anticipating their success.
Acquaintance with the cinema
At the age of 16, when Anna was studying at the Roman Academy of Arts, she was spotted by the director Lionid Mogai, who was looking for a new face for the lead role in his future film. Mogaya suggested that the girl go through a screen test. Delighted with the game of young talent, he approved Anna for the role of Mirella in the film "Tomorrow Will Be Too Late" (1949). Her work in this film impressed critics and the audience so much that she was awarded the Italian Silver Ribbon Award for Best Actress. However, the illness and death of her beloved father did not allow the girl to fully enjoy the first success.
Hollywood and the rising star Pierre Angeli
The biography of the young actress after the success of the movie "Tomorrow is Too Late" began to include one success after another. The talented beauty was noticed by Hollywood screenwriter Stuart Stern. Anna was offered the main role in the film "Teresa". After its release in 1951, the girl woke up famous. And she received the pseudonym Pierre Angeli from her producer. In 1952, she received the Golden Globe Award in the nomination The Most Promising Actress. MGM Studios signed a long-term contract with her. Angeli moved with her mother and sisters to the United States. Enrica's dream came true. She became the manager of her famous daughter. The second later also became an actress.
Popularity
Elegant Italian won the love of the American public. For the manner of the game, she was compared with the great Greta Garbo, and the proposals of famous directors literally fell upon Pierre Angeli. The films Light Touch, Flame and Flesh, Sombrero and The Devilish Trio were shot between 1952 and 1953. At the same time, the film “Three Love Stories” was released, where the actress plays in tandem with Kirk Douglas. The dramatic role of the young widow of Nina, who lost her husband in a concentration camp, became one of the actress's most memorable works. Her heroine was going to take her own life, but an unexpected meeting with the former acrobat changed everything. She needs an incentive for life, and he needs a roommate to regain former glory. They work together and fall in love in the process. It happened in life. The actors met for a year, Douglas made Pierre an offer of marriage, but the wedding did not take place. It was the opinion of the mother, who believed that an early marriage would interfere with her daughter's career. Not doing stupid things, according to Enrika, distance should have helped. The proposal of the director Yves Allegre to take part in the filming of the musical comedy "Mademoiselle Nitouche", which will be held in France, was very helpful.
Paris
In December 1953, Pierre went to the shooting. For the role of Denise in musical comedy, she was very useful for many years of music, vocals and dancing, as well as impeccable French. The main character performed by Angeli turned out the way the author of the operetta Florimon Herve intended. Pierre's partners on the set were two famous French comedians - Fernandel and Louis de Funes. It is not surprising that the premiere of the film "Mademoiselle Nitouche" in 1954 was a great success and received commendable reviews from critics.
Love of life
Enrika’s calculation turned out to be correct: the relationship between Angeli and Douglas did not stand the test of distance, and in 1954 the couple finally broke up. In the same year, Pierre accepted the offer to participate in the painting "Silver Bowl." Her partner on the set was Paul Newman. One day, Paul’s friend, aspiring actor James Dean, looked at the shooting. Newman introduced him to Angeli. It was love at first sight. After a short time, young people became inseparable. Talk began about the wedding, which did not suit Pierre Angeli's mother at all. A novice actor riding a motorcycle was not a couple of her famous daughter.
And Enrica did her best to break the relationship between Angela and Dean. Lovers quarreled, James Dean left for New York. Taking advantage of this, Enrica arranged an engagement for her daughter with a profitable groom - the then-famous singer Vic Damone. A grandiose wedding took place on November 24, 1954, and in 1955, Angeli gave birth to a son, Perry. But ... Her marriage from the first day was unhappy. The actress increasingly wondered what mistake she had made. After giving birth, Pierre was offered to star in the film "Someone Up There Loves Me." James Dean was supposed to be her partner on the set, but fate decreed otherwise. The actor died in a car accident. As the actress recalled, since the death of her beloved, something broke inside her.
Hollywood Career Sunset
Angeli continued to act in film. In 1956, the film "Port of Africa" was released, where the actress shone with beautiful vocals, and the picture "Someone up there loves me." Together with Angeli, Paul Newman starred in it. The career of the actress went uphill, and the marriage was falling apart. Damon did not allow Angela to act in film. He was terribly jealous and rolled up scandals to her on the slightest occasion. He himself endlessly cheated on his wife. To calm her nerves, Pierre Angeli took a lot of antidepressants. Such a life affected work. The actress stopped offering good roles. And after the contract with MGM Studios ended in 1957, she herself refused to renew it, thereby incurring the wrath of all Hollywood authorities.
Divorce and return to Europe
In 1958, the actress filed for divorce. Then there were endless litigation over the custody of his son. Despite the victory of Pierre, litigation finally exhausted her. Since the road to Hollywood was now closed for her, Angeli went with her son to London, where she starred in the film "Angry Silence", which received three awards at the Berlin Film Festival. After she returned to Italy. At home, she continued to act in film. From 1962 to 1965, films were released: Garden and Gomorrah, The Sea Musketeers, The Battle of the Ardennes, Bank in Bangkok, The Spy in Your Eye.
Accident or suicide?
In 1962, Angeli remarried the famous composer Armando Travaioli. In this marriage, the actress gave birth to a son, Andrew. Like the previous one, the second union also did not make Pierre happy. In 1969, the actress divorced her husband. She began to have material problems. Experiences led to deep depression. Angeli again took many sedatives and in 1970 was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of clinical depression. Her friend Debbie Reynolds brought her out of this state , who invited Pierre to stay with her in Los Angeles.
With the hope of returning to Hollywood, Pierre moved to the United States with her sons. On September 9, she called her doctor and asked to bring sedatives, because she was very nervous before some important meeting. And on the morning of September 10, 1971, in a Beverly Hills house, a friend found Pierre Angeli's lifeless body. The cause of death was established - an overdose of sedatives. The yellow press blew that Angeli committed suicide because she was afraid of old age. Relatives and relatives of the actress never believed in this.