Daniela Rocca
Encyclopedia
Daniela Rocca is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
– 28 May 1995 in Milo
Milo, Italy
Milo is a comune in the Province of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 160 km southeast of Palermo and about 25 km north of Catania. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,070 and an area of 18.2 km².Milo borders the following municipalities: Giarre,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
model and actress.
Rocca was born and raised in Acireale
Acireale
Acireale is a coastal city and commune in the north-east of the province of Catania, Sicily, Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is a diocese, famous for its churches, including the Neo-Gothic St. Peter's Basilica, St...
, a poor neighborhood in Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
. She became Miss Catania in 1953, and was discovered by talent scouts after competing in a Miss Italy competition. She made her film debut in French director Maurice Cloche's
Maurice Cloche
Maurice Cloche was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer. His movie Monsieur Vincent won a 1948 Special Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:...
Marchands de Filles (1957) and also appeared in the Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda was an Egyptian-born Italian film director. Best known for his horror and thriller movies, Freda had no great love for the horror films he was assigned, but rather favored the epic sword and sandal pictures...
film Caltiki - il mostro immortale (1959)
Caltiki - il mostro immortale (1959)
Caltiki - The Immortal Monster is a 1959 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda. The plot concerns a team of archaeologists investigating Mayan ruins who come across a blob-like monster. They manage to destroy it with fire while keeping a sample of the monster...
, and Esther and the King
Esther and the King
Esther and the King is a 1960 U.S.A. / Italian film direction, written, and produced by Raoul Walsh. It is a religious epic. It was produced at 20th Century Fox/ Raoul Walsh Productions, and was released by 20th Century Fox. Joan Collins stars as Esther in this melodramatic, routine Biblical story...
(1960). More film roles followed, but Rocca did not find fame until Divorzio all'Italiana (1961)
Divorce, Italian Style
Divorce, Italian Style is a 1961 Italian comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay was written by Ennio De Concini, Pietro Germi, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci; based on the novel Un delitto d'onore by Giovanni Arpino...
. Rocca became a star after playing the part of the smothering wife Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
is desperate to escape in Pietro Germi
Pietro Germi
Pietro Germi was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting.He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di...
's international box-office hit. Rocca fell in love with Germi during filming and attempted suicide when he rejected her. After that, she was considered unstable and was not offered significant roles. A nervous breakdown led to a stay in a mental hospital. After playing minor roles in movies and television, her show business career ended in 1967. She ended her days in a retirement home in Milo, near Catania. There she wrote four books: Agente segreto con licenza di vivere; Avvocato offresi; Il condannato a morte; and Psicoanalisi, sogni, fantasie nascosti nella mente; and a collection of poems, Ara.
Selected filmography
- AusterlitzAusterlitz (film)Austerlitz is a 1960 film directed by Abel Gance and starring Jean Marais, Rossano Brazzi, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio de Sica, Orson Welles, Leslie Caron and Elvire Popesco. Pierre Mondy portrays Napoleon in this film about one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Austerlitz...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - Revenge of the BarbariansRevenge of the BarbariansRevenge of the Barbarians is a 1960 film about the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Visigoths.This film was written by Gastone Ramazzotti and directed by Giuseppe Vari.-Cast:*Daniela Rocca as "Galla Placidia"*Anthony Steel as "Consul Olympus"...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - I Don Giovanni della Costa AzzurraI Don Giovanni della Costa AzzurraI Don Giovanni della Costa Azzurra is a 1962 Italian film, directed by Vittorio Sala. It stars actor Gabriele Ferzetti.- Cast :*Curd Jürgens - Mr...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
)