娱乐英语新闻:Italian actress Virna Lisi dies at 78

ROME, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Virna Lisi, a famed Italian actress and winner of numerous awards, died on Thursday in Rome at age of 78, local media said.

During her career which started as a teenager in 1953, Lisi played memorable roles in European and Hollywood films receiving many awards including a career Golden Globe in 2004 and two David di Donatello Career Awards in 1996 and 2009.

Lisi in 1994 won the Prix D'interpretation Feminine prize at the Cannes Film Festival with her performance as the maleficent queen Caterina de' Medici in "La Reine Margot" by French director Patrice Cereau.

Lisi, who initially started her career also thanks to her stunning looks, played increasingly important parts in Italian films, co-starring with famous actors such as Alain Delon and Marcello Mastroianni.

In 1965, the blue-eyed, blonde actress debuted in Hollywood, popping out of a wedding cake in 1965 comedy classic "How To Murder Your Wife" by American actor and film director Richard Quine.

But in the late 1960s she broke her seven-year contract with Paramount and was back to Europe, where she struggled to find roles suitable to her. More recently, her career mostly involved Italian TV series.

Born in Ancona, a city in central Italy, Lisi had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer one month ago.