Celebrate Oscar-Winning Movie Stars During Italian-American Heritage Month

Last year in honor of Italian-American Heritage Month, we celebrated iconic Italian film directors. This year, we are focusing on actors and actresses. To date, three Italians have won Oscars in acting categories, all in leading roles. Read on to learn about them, and check out our blog to find more information on Italian-American Heritage Month.

The first Italian to win an Oscar in an acting category was Anna Magnani, who earned a statuette for her performance in 1955's "The Rose Tattoo." Born in Rome in 1908, Magnani appeared in dozens of Italian films throughout the '30s and '40s before turning her attention to Hollywood. In the '50s, she starred in several American films, sharing the screen with legendary leading men Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster, among others.

Playwright Tennessee Williams admired Magnani's work and wrote "The Rose Tattoo" with her in mind for the role of Serafina Delle Rose, an Italian-American widow living in Mississippi. Magnani declined to appear in the Broadway production, but she agreed to star in the film a few years later. She earned another Oscar nomination for Best Actress two years later for "Wild Is the Wind," in which she played the neglected wife of an American rancher living in Italy.

Six years after Magnani's win, screen legend Sophia Loren became the first Oscar winner for a non-English language performance when she won Best Actress for 1961's "Two Women" ("La Ciociara") directed by the iconic Italian director Vittorio De Sica. At the age of 25, Loren played a widowed shopkeeper raising her 12-year-old daughter in Rome during World War II. Several years later she would earn another nomination in the same category for De Sica's "Marriage Italian Style."

In 1991, Loren received the Honorary Academy Award for Career Achievement, and several years later she was presented with the esteemed Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. At the age of 89, she has not officially retired from acting. She most recently starred in 2020's "The Life Ahead" ("La Vita Davanti a Sé") directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti.

The most recent Italian winner in an acting category is Roberto Benigni, who directed himself to a Best Actor win for 1997's World War II dramedy "Life Is Beautiful" ("La Vita è Bella"). The film was released in the United States in 1998 and remains the second highest-grossing foreign-language film in America behind 2000's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

"Life Is Beautiful" earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Benigni. Magnani and Loren were unable to accept their Oscars in person, but Benigni gave two very memorable speeches on his big night. In a moment viewers will never forget, Benigni climbed over the seats in the auditorium when Loren announced the winner for Best Foreign Language Film. Later in the evening, he was equally excited to accept his Best Actor award.

Be sure to check out these award-winning performances as you celebrate Italian-American Heritage Month.