Mangano, Silvana

Mangano, Silvana (1930-1989), Italian actress who appeared in films by such noted directors as Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, and others. Born in Rome, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before appearing in small parts in films from 1947 onward. Her first major role was as a young farmworker in Riso Amero (1949; Bitter Rice), directed by Giuseppe de Santis. In the same year, Mangano married the film producer Dino de Laurentiis, who became her manager (they separated in 1983).

Mangano occasionally acted in films made by foreign directors—such as Martin Ritt's Five Branded Women (1960) and the David Lynch film Dune (1984), which was produced by De Laurentiis—although most of her films were directed by Italians, including L'Oro di Napoli (1954; The Gold of Naples) by De Sica; Edipo Re (1967; Oedipus Rex) and others by Pier Paolo Pasolini; and Morte a Venezia (1971; Death in Venice), Ludwig (1973), and Gruppa di Famiglia in un Interno (1974; Conversation Piece) by Luchino Visconti. Mangano died in Madrid on December 16, 1989.