Gina Lollobrigida refuses to grow old, and at 95 she is running for a seat in the Italian Senate. She is a firm believer that women have the right to grow old gracefully in their own way. Lollobrigida is the epitome of never being too old to dream, or to try a new venture.
The nonagenarian is a living legend and is among the last of the living, high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
High Profile
Gina Lollobrigida, La Lollo, is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early swinging 1960s.
Lollobrigida was created into an international sex symbol and destined to be ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’. Lollobrigida was renowned for getting her own way, from receiving 10% of the gross, to her approval of her co-star, the director and the script.
Gina Lollobrigida Refuses to Grow Old
Gina Lollobrigida says she is tired of politicians arguing with each other without ever getting to the point. The Italian government collapsed following the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Lollobrigida says, “I will fight for the people to decide, from health to justice. Italy is in bad shape, I want to do something good and positive.”
This is not the first time Lollobrigida has set her sights on politics. In 1999, she launched an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the European Parliament. She is once again entering the political arena that has seen controversial characters such as Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian media mogul, who owns the largest broadcasting company in the country. The scandalous sex-affairs, poor judgement and decision-making that plagued Berlusconi, is a good reason for a person like Gina Lollobrigida to throw her hat into the ring.
A Long Road From A Mountain Village
It is a long way from being the daughter of a furniture manufacturer in a picturesque mountain village, from where she entered the beauty pageant circuit. In 1947, Gina was placed third in the Miss Italia pageant.
She finally made her debut in Hollywood in 1954. For the rest of the 50s and 60s Lollobrigida divided her time between American, Italian and French cinema.
Lollobrigida received more publicity than her co-stars, simply because she didn’t care about it. “I wanted to be an artist more than anything else. I wanted a career on a high level.”
In the 1980s her movie career slowed, so she re-invented herself as a photojournalist, then a political candidate and a sculptor. She directed and produced a documentary featuring an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro.
Lollobrigida Refuses to Grow Old, but is a Loner
She says she is a loner, dedicated to her art. “My strength is my free spirit, and my great imagination gives me strength and vitality.” Lollobrigida is said to have a fortune of around $50 million. This estimate she says is totally unfounded, and she has never cared for money. In 2014, some of her jewellery was auctioned at Sotheby’s, that netted around $5 million. She donated it to stem-cell research,
Lollobrigida spent her life staying away from scandal, but now she has worked through a claim of a false marriage, and her son suing for control of her fortune. His argument was that Lollobrigida was under the influence of her 27-year-old manager. Her son lost the lawsuit.
Commenting on men, La Lolla says, “It am too strong, too popular. Important men, they want to be the star – they don’t want to be in your shadow.”
No Rocking Chair For Gina Lollobrigida
Gina Lollobrigida refuses to grow old and retire into a rocking chair on the veranda. She is an advert and example for all who feel that anything over the age of 60 is going downhill. Queen Elizabeth died at 95-years-old. Three days before her death, she was still working, when she accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson and appointed Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Elderly people do not have to yield to the stereotype of being slow, weak, feeble, and frail. Boris Johnson said on the day of his resignation, the Queen was as alert as ever and deeply interested in the political scene. There is nothing like the wisdom that comes with age.
All too often, the elderly are overlooked, as being ‘past their use by date’. Use by dates are a clever ploy to make the product turn over quicker. Not all elderly are get up and go people, but then neither are all twenty-year-olds. In Australia 93-year-old Judith Kerr, is another woman who refuses to grow old, and still teaches ballet. Gina Lollobrigida is proof that you are never too old to have a voice in your community.
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