Lea Massari

Lea Massari

1933-06-30 – 2025-06-23 (age 91) Roma, Lazio, Italy
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Biography

Anna Maria Massetani better known as Lea Massari (30 June 1933 — 23 June 2025) was an Italian actress. When she was 22, she changed her name to Lea Massari after the death of her fiancé Leo. She studied architecture in Switzerland. Massari became a celebrity in art cinema for two roles, the missing girl Anna in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura (1960), and as Clara, the mother of a sexually precocious 14-year-old boy named Laurent (Benoît Ferreux) in Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart (1971). She worked in both Italian and French Cinema. Her career includes Sergio Leone's debut Il Colosso di Rodi, and international commercial films such as Les choses de la vie. She was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975. She won Nastro d'Argento as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli.

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Known For

Murmur of the Heart
Murmur of the Heart

1971

as Clara Chevalier

L'Avventura
L'Avventura

1960

as Anna

The Night Caller
The Night Caller

1975

as Norah Elmer

Indian Summer
Indian Summer

1972

as Monica

Violette & Francois
Violette & Francois

1977

as Cécile Levene

The Colossus of Rhodes
The Things of Life
The Things of Life

1970

as Catherine Bérard

A Dog Called... Vengeance
The Silent One
The Silent One

1973

as Maria

Made in Italy
Made in Italy

1965

as Monica (segment "1 'Usi e costumi', episode 3")

Christ Stopped at Eboli
Christ Stopped at Eboli

1979

as Luisa Levi

The Camp Followers
The Camp Followers

1965

as Toula

Secrets Secrets
Secrets Secrets

1985

as Marta

The Four Days of Naples
The Woman in Blue
The Woman in Blue

1973

as Aurélie

Allonsanfan
Allonsanfan

1974

as Charlotte

The Meetings of Anna
The Meetings of Anna

1978

as Anna's mother

A Difficult Life
A Difficult Life

1961

as Elena Pavinato

And Hope to Die
And Hope to Die

1972

as Sugar

The Seventh Target
The Seventh Target

1984

as Nelly