Marcello Mastroianni

His brother Ruggero Mastroianni was a well-known Italian film editor who edited several of Mastroianni’s films like ‘White Nights’ (1957), ‘Don't Touch the White Woman!’ (1974) and ‘Ginger and Fred’ (1986). Ruggero also starred along with Marcello in the 1971 Italian comedy film ‘Scipio the African’.

On August 12, 1950 he married Flora Carabella, an Italian film, television and stage actress. Their daughter Barbara was born in 1952. Due to his extramarital affairs, the couple eventually got separated.

Post separation his first serious romantic relation happened to be with American actress Faye Dunaway, with whom he starred in ‘A Place for Lovers’ in 1968. However as Mastroianni, a Catholic, denied to divorce his wife, Dunaway who wanted to marry and have a family with Mastroianni finally left him in 1971 after waiting for three years with the hope that he would change his mind.

He was born on September 28, 1924, in a small village called Fontana Liri situated in the Province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, Italy, to Ottone Mastroianni and his wife Ida (née Irolle). His father ran a carpentry shop. Sculptor Umberto Mastroianni was his uncle.

He was raised in Turin and Rome. During the ‘Second World War’, Mastroianni was incarcerated in a German prison camp. He fled from the prison camp to hide in Venice.

Post ‘Second World War’, he attended the ‘University of Rome’ and made his acting debut in university aided amateur theatricals.

He made his film debut at the age of fourteen as an uncredited extra in the 1939 film ‘Marionette’ followed by another ‘The Children Are watching Us’ in 1944.

In 1945, he began to work for ‘Lion Films’ in its Italian department in Rome and also got associated with a drama club.

For the next decade or so he played trivial roles in several films till 1951 when he landed up with his first prominent role in the Giacomo Gentilomo directed Italian drama film, ‘The Accusation’.

In 1958 he starred in the Italian criminal-comedy film, ‘Big Deal on Madonna Street’, directed by Mario Monicelli, which emerged as one of the masterpieces of Italian cinema.

Even after doing several films over two decades, his real breakthrough came in 1960 with the critically acclaimed Italian comedy-drama film, ‘La Dolce Vita’, written and directed by Federico Fellini. The film revolves around his character, Marcello Rubini, a journalist who spends over seven days and nights in exploring the high society of Rome. He received the ‘Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor’ award for his performance.

The ‘Marcello Mastroianni Award’ was established in 1998 in his honour, which is given out at the ‘Venice International Film Festival’ to best debutant actor or actress.