Lea Massari
Anna Maria Massatani, known professionally as Lea Massari, was an Italian actress and singer.
Life and career
Massatani was born in Rome and studied architecture in Switzerland. She adopted her stage name at the age of 22, after the sudden death of her fiancé Leo.Massari became known in art cinema for two roles: the missing girl Anna in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura, and as Clara, the mother of a sexually precocious 14-year-old boy named Laurent in Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart. She began to receive critical acclaim in 1961 after her performance in A Difficult Life, directed by Dino Risi, earning her a special David di Donatello award.
Massari worked in both Italian and French cinema. Her career includes Sergio Leone's debut The Colossus of Rhodes and international commercial films such as The Things of Life.
Massari was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975.
Massari won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actress award for her appearance in Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli .
Massari died on 23 June 2025, one week before her 92nd birthday.
Partial filmography
Proibito – Agnese BarrasDreams in a Drawer – Lucia MorettiResurrection – Marja PawlownaL'avventura – AnnaFrom a Roman Balcony – FrejaIl Colosso di Rodi – DialaA Difficult Life – Elena PavinatoMorte di un bandito – SantaDreams Die at Dawn – Anna MiklosLe Monte-charge – Marthe DravetThe Four Days of Naples – Maria The Captive City – Lelia MendoresWeeping for a Bandit – María JerónimaThe Unvanquished – Dominique ServetLa coda del diavolo The Camp Followers – Toula DemantritzaMade in Italy – Monica Garden of Delights – Carlo's mistressVolver a vivir – MaríaI Want Him Dead – AlomaLes Choses de la vie – Catherine BérardCéleste – HélèneSenza via d'uscita – BrittMurmur of the Heart – Clara ChevalierPaolo e Francesca And Hope to Die – SugarIndian Summer – MonicaThe Woman in Blue – AurélieEscape to Nowhere – Maria Menela' – MariaStory of a Love Story – Woman- '