Franca Valeri

Alma Franca Maria Norsa (31 July 1920 – 9 August 2020), known professionally as Franca Valeri, was an Italian actress, author, and screenwriter.

Life and career

Born in Milan as Alma Franca Maria Norsa. Her Jewish father and brother were able to flee to Switzerland. As her father did not want her to become an actress, Norsa adopted the stage name Valeri in the 1950s as suggested by a friend of hers who was reading a book by French critic and poet Paul Valéry.

Valeri started her career on stage in 1947, and in 1949 she co-founded the Teatro dei Gobbi, along with Luciano Salce and her future husband Vittorio Caprioli. On the radio, she created and played the characters of La signorina Snob (Mrs. Snob), Cesira la manicure and Sora Cecioni. She co-starred in such films as A Hero of Our Times (1955), The Sign of Venus (of which she co-wrote both the story and the screenplay), and Il vedovo, as well as others. She often wrote her scenes in the films in which she appeared.

Among the major films she co-wrote, Paris, My Love (1962) is a rare case where the story is focused on her role only. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, she frequently worked for the Italian television. She starred in Studio Uno, Le divine and Sabato Sera. In the 1980s and early 1990s, she starred in a series of commercials for Pandoro Melegatti, which were well received and stretched over a number of years (Pandoro being a seasonal product tied to the Christmas holidays).

During the 2005–06 theatrical season, she performed her own monologue, La Vedova di Socrate ("Socrate's Widow"), and Les Bonnes, by Jean Genet. In January 2008 she played the role of Solange in Les Bonnes at Milan's Piccolo Teatro. On 8 May 2020, Valeri received an Honorary David di Donatello Award.

Valeri died on 9 August 2020, nine days after turning 100.