Do you like Silvana Mangano, DataLounge?

Born in Rome to an Italian father and an English mother, Mangano lived in poverty caused by the Second World War. Trained for seven years as a dancer, she was supporting herself as a model. In 1946, at age 16, she won the "Miss Rome" beauty pageant and through this, Silvana obtained a role in a Mario Costa film.

Mangano's earliest connection with filmmaking occurred through her romantic relationship with actor Marcello Mastroianni. This led her to a film contract, though it would take some time for Mangano to ascend to international stardom with her performance in Bitter Rice (1949). Thereafter, she signed a contract with Lux Film, in 1949, and later married Dino De Laurentiis, who was on the verge of becoming a known producer. The couple had 4 children. Federico, the actress's only son, died in a plane crash in 1981 while making a film in Alaska. After that, she withdrew from public view, although she emerged in 1983 to play the Reverend Mother in David Lynch's science fiction epic 'DUNE'. De Laurentiis and Mangano separated in 1983, and Mangano began divorce proceedings in 1988.

Her roles included a sensitive prostitute in 'Gold of Naples' (1954), a loveless movie goddess in 'The Witches' (1967), a cool aristocrat in 'Death in Venice' (1971) and the wealthy, rejected wife of Marcello Mastroianni in 'Dark Eyes' (1987). Other films were 'Anna' (1951) 'Ulysses' (as both Penelope and Circe, 1954), '5 Branded Women', 'Barabbas' (1961), 'Oedipus Rex' (1967), 'Teorema' (1968), 'Ludwig' (1973), 'Conversation Piece' (1975) and 'Dune' (1984)

Mangano's sensual film image contrasted with her private life, in which she wore conservative clothes and no makeup. In her maturity, she was a cool, sculptured, high-fashion beauty whose penchants included tennis, horseback riding and well-prepared food.

Following surgery on 4 December 1989 that left her in a coma, she died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain, during the late night/early morning hours between 15 and 16 December 1989 .