Maria Michi

Biography

Maria Michi (14 May 1921 – 7 April 1980) was an Italian supporting actress who worked with Roberto Rossellini on his two early neorealism masterpieces: Rome, Open City and Paisà.

Michi worked first as a typist at a law firm, then as an usherette at Teatro Quattro Fontane in Rome. She was noticed and given small parts in the company of Sergio Tofano and Diana Torrieri during the 1942-1943 season. Critic Irene Bignardi called her "a woman very near the resistance and the Communist Party". In 1948, she worked with Christian-Jaque in La Chartreuse de Parme. She was married in September 1949 to Duke Augusto Torlonia, and left the world of cinema for the theater, particularly working with directo...