Gina Lollobrigida, icon of Italian cinema in the 1950s, dies at age 95

Actress Gina Lollobrigida passed away on Monday, Jan. 16, at the age of 95, according to the news agency ANSA. The performer, who has a Golden Globe and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, died in the Rome clinic where she was hospitalized after suffering a fractured femur in September.

Known as a Mediterranean sex icon since her rise to fame in the 1950s, the actress appeared in films such as Notre-Dame de Paris, Bread, Love and Fantasy, When September Comes, and Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. After her time in the cinema, where she also worked as a director as well as a photographer and sculptor.

Entering politics

However, she continued to add to her list of accomplishments even last year. In October, Lollobrigida announced that she would run for the Italian Senate. Inspired by Mahatma Ghandi, the performer joined the Sovereign and Popular Italy party (ISP), a political group that declared itself anti-system and Eurosceptic. Her intention in running, she said, was to "stay creative for important things, especially for my country."

She said this in an interview in the Corriere de la Sera, explaining that she made the decision after getting tired "of listening to politicians argue among themselves without ever getting anywhere." Moreover, she considered that "Italy is bad, I want to do something good and positive."

It was not her first foray into politics. In 1999, the actress ran for the European Parliament as a candidate for Romano Prodi's Democrats. Although, on that occasion, she failed to obtain the minimum number of votes to be elected. This result was repeated in the elections for the Italian Senate, denying the actress the chance to become a senator.