Pupella Maggio (born Giustina Maria Maggio; 24 April 1910 – 8 December 1999) was an Italian film actress.

Pupella Maggio
Maggio in 1987
Born
Giustina Maria Maggio

(1910-04-24)24 April 1910
Naples, Kingdom of Italy
Died8 December 1999(1999-12-08) (aged 89)
Rome, Italy
ChildrenMaria Dell'Isola
Parent(s)Domenico "Mimì" Maggio (father)
Antonietta Gravante
RelativesBeniamino Maggio (brother)
Dante Maggio (brother)
Enzo Maggio (brother)
Rosalia Maggio (sister)

Life and career

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Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio debuted on stage aged twelve years old, as the sidekick of her brother Beniamino. She later worked with several companies, including the ones led by Rina Morelli and by Eduardo De Filippo, where after the death of Titina De Filippo she inherited most of her roles.[1]

She settled in Todi, where she continued to deal with cinema. She was the mother, now elderly, of the main character in Giuseppe Tornatore's 1988 Oscar-winning film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso . In 1997, she wrote and published her first and only novel, the autobiographical Poca luce in tanto spazio (A Little Light in a Lot of Space) edited by Carlo Grassetti. Maggio also appeared in several films, winning the Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Luigi Zampa's Be Sick... It's Free.[1][2]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1947 Bullet for Stefano Marta
1947 Lost in the Dark
1954 The Doctor of the Mad
1958 Mogli pericolose Aurelia Bertuetti a.k.a. "Lolita"
1958 Serenatella sciuè sciuè Tina Paradiso
1958 Il terribile Teodoro
1959 La Fortuna Con L'effe Maiuscola
1959 La duchessa di Santa Lucia
1959 Il terrore dell'Oklahoma
1959 Sogno di una notte di mezza sbornia Filumena
1960 Anônimas Cocottes
1960 Mariti in pericolo Lucia
1960 Two Women Peasant
1960 Caravan petrol
1960 A Qualcuna Piace Calvo Marcella's Mother
1962 The Four Days of Naples Arturo's Mother Uncredited
1966 The Bible: In the Beginning... Noah's Wife
1968 Be Sick... It's Free Mrs. Antonietta Parisi
1971 Il Prof. Dott. Guido Tersilli Antonietta Parisi
1972 The Valachi Papers Letizia Reina
1973 Amarcord Miranda Biondi
1981 Lacrime napulitane
1988 Cinema Paradiso Maria (old)
1988 Days of Inspector Ambrosio Rosa Cuomo
1990 Sabato, domenica e lunedì Zia Memé
2002 Fate come noi Giustina (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ a b Antonio Virgilio Savona; Michele Lo Straniero. "Maggio, Famiglia". Gino Castaldo (edited by). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 959-960.
  2. ^ Enrico Lancia (1998). I premi del cinema. Gremese Editore, 1998. ISBN 8877422211.
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