Rossana Podesta was born in 1934 in Tripoli, Libya. She starred in Italian movies in the 1950’s, “Ulysses” in 1955, “Helen of Troy” and “Sodom and Gomorrah”. She died in 2013.
IMDB entry:
Rossana Podestà was born on August 20, 1934 in Zlitan, Misratah, Libya as Carla Podestà. She was an actress, known for 7 uomini d’oro (1965), Helen of Troy (1956) andHorror Castle (1963). She was married to Walter Bonatti and Marco Vicario. She died on December 10, 2013 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
Italian sex siren of the late 50s and 60s best known for playing Helen of Troy on film and for her appearances in European sandal-and-spear spectacles.
After considering such established stars as Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Rhonda Fleming, Ava Gardner and Yvonne De Carlo for the lead in Helen of Troy (1956), directorRobert Wise chose Podesta, an established actress but one who was relatively unknown outside of Italy. The problem was that she could not speak English. As she would be surrounded by British actors, and to avoid a clash of accents and dialects among the characters, Wise employed a vocal coach to help her learn her lines by rote.
Was one of the judges in the 1979 Miss Universe pageant.
She was the partner of climber/writer Walter Bonatti from 1980 until his death (13 September 2011).
Mother of directors Stefano Vicario and Francesco Vicario.
Moved to Rome after World War II.