Vanna Vanni

Vanna Vanni (7 January 1915^[1] – 6 March 1998) was an Italian film actress. She was in thirty-one films between 1930 and 1943.

Vanna Vanni
Vanni in I Don't Know You Anymore (1936)
Born	Maria Angelica Giovanna Pegna (1915-01-07)7 January 1915 Florence, Italy
Died	6 March 1998(1998-03-06) (aged 83) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Other names	Vanna Pegna
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1930–1943

Life and career

Vanni was born in Florence^[1] as Maria Angelica Giovanna Pegna. She has been described as a graceful and elegant brunette,^[1] and the New York Times film critic, Frank Nugent, wrote in a review of I've Lost My Husband! that she was "one of the prettiest girls in the Italian film industry."^[2]

Her first cinematic role was in Perché no? (1930), directed by Amleto Palermi, and in her first films she was credited as Vanna Pegna.^[1] Vanni was one of the most prolific actresses in Italian cinema between mid-1930s and 1940s; specialized in comedy films, she got some critical acclaim for her dramatic turn in Esodo Pratelli's Se non son matti non li vogliamo.^[1] She also worked with directors such as Raffaello Matarazzo, Gennaro Righelli, Giorgio Simonelli, and Eduardo De Filippo.^[1]

She retired from film in 1943 and died in Rome in 1998.

Selected filmography

• Perché no? (1930) (as Vanna Pegna)
• The Doctor's Secret (1931) (as Vanna Pegna)
• Il serpente a sonagli (1935) (as Vanna Pegna)
• Golden Arrow (1935)
• La gondola delle chimere (1936)
• Sette giorni all'altro mondo (1936)
• I Don't Know You Anymore (1936)
• L'uomo che sorride (1936)
• King of Diamonds (1936)
• I fratelli Castiglioni (1937)
• I've Lost My Husband! (1937)
• The Boarders at Saint-Cyr (1939)
• The Knight of San Marco (1939)
• The Faceless Voice (1939)
• L'imprevisto (1940)
• A Husband for the Month of April (1941)
• Se non son matti non li vogliamo (1941)
• Torrents of Spring (1942)
• Non ti pago! (1942)
• 4 ragazze sognano (1943)
• Non mi muovo! (1943)
• Ti conosco, mascherina! (1943)