ReelXO
Laura Betti

Laura Betti

Acting

Born: May 1, 1927 · Casalecchio di Reno, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Died: July 31, 2004 (aged 77)

Highest Rated

Biography

Laura Betti (née Trombetti; 1 May 1927 – 31 July 2004) was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a documentary about him in 2001. Betti became famous for portraying bizarre, grotesque, eccentric, unstable or maniacal roles, like Regina in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900, Anna the medium in Twitch of the Death Nerve, Giovanna la pazza in Woman Buried Alive, hysterical Rita Zigai in Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina, Therese in Private Vices, Public Virtues, Emilia the servant in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and Mildred the protagonist's wife in Mario Bava's Hatchet for the Honeymoon. Born Laura Trombetti in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, she grew up to be interested in singing. She first worked professionally in the arts as a jazz singer and moved to Rome. Betti made her film debut in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960). In 1963, she became a close friend of the poet and movie director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Under his direction, she proved a wonderful talent and played in seven of his films, including La ricotta (1963), Teorema (Theorem, 1968), his 1972 version of The Canterbury Tales, in which she played the Wife of Bath; and his controversial Salo (1975) ("120 Days of Sodom"). In 1976, Betti portrayed Regina, a cruel and eroto-maniacal fascist in Bernardo Bertolucci's Novecento (1900). She also played Miss Blandish in his Last Tango in Paris (1972), though her single scene was deleted. In 1973 she dubbed the voice of the Devil for the Italian version of William Friedkin's The Exorcist. From the 1960s, Betti dedicated much of her time to literature and politics. She became the muse for a number of leading political and literary figures in Italy and came to personify the revolutionary and Marxist era of 1970s Italy. In 2001, she made a documentary about Pasolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini e la ragione di un sogno. She also donated her papers related to their long friendship along with more than 1000 volumes and many documents connected to Pasolini to the archives of the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, thus creating the Centro Studi Archivio Pier Paolo Pasolini. This Centro, strongly wanted by Betti, owns also thousands of photograph and all the works of Pasolini: poetry, literature, cinema and journalism. After her death in 2004 her brother Sergio Trombetti has donated all the personal documents of her career to the Centro that has absorbed them under the name Fondo Laura Betti. Source: Article "Laura Betti" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known for

Photos (2)

Movies (73)

The Cousin
XO5.4

The Cousin

Rosalia Scuderi

TMDB 5.4
La Dolce Vita
XO8.0

La Dolce Vita

Laura

TMDB 8.0
Fat Girl
XO6.2

Fat Girl

Fernando's Mother

TMDB 6.2
1900
XO7.8

1900

Regina

TMDB 7.8
Theorem
XO7.0

Theorem

Emilia, the Servant

TMDB 7.0
The Canterbury Tales
XO6.1

The Canterbury Tales

The Wife from Bath

TMDB 6.1
A Bay of Blood
XO6.6

A Bay of Blood

Anna Fossati

TMDB 6.6
Oedipus Rex
XO6.8

Oedipus Rex

Jocasta's Maid (uncredited)

TMDB 6.8
The Gang
XO6.2

The Gang

Felicia

TMDB 6.1
The Witches
XO6.0

The Witches

Male Tourist (segment "La Terra vista dalla Luna")

TMDB 6.0
Class Relations
XO6.8

Class Relations

Brunelda

TMDB 6.8
Marianna Ucrìa
XO6.7

Marianna Ucrìa

Giuseppa

TMDB 6.7
That Night of Varennes
XO6.9

That Night of Varennes

Virginia Capacelli

TMDB 6.9
Jane B. by Agnès V.
XO6.7

Jane B. by Agnès V.

Lardy

TMDB 6.8
With Closed Eyes
XO7.3

With Closed Eyes

Beatrice

TMDB 7.3
The Woman with Red Boots
XO5.6

The Woman with Red Boots

Léonore

TMDB 5.6
Caprice Italian Style
XO6.2

Caprice Italian Style

Desdemona

TMDB 6.1
The Great Pumpkin
XO6.7

The Great Pumpkin

Aida

TMDB 6.7
Private Vices, Public Virtues
XO5.3

Private Vices, Public Virtues

Teresa

TMDB 5.2
Butterfly on the Shoulder
XO5.9

Butterfly on the Shoulder

Mme Carrabo

TMDB 5.9
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
XO7.2

Ro.Go.Pa.G.

Sonia, the 'Diva' (segment "La ricotta")

TMDB 7.2
Hatchet for the Honeymoon
XO6.4

Hatchet for the Honeymoon

Mildred Harrington

TMDB 6.4
Lovers and Liars
XO4.3

Lovers and Liars

Laura

TMDB 4.3
Sonny and Jed
XO5.8

Sonny and Jed

Betty

TMDB 5.8
Slap the Monster on Page One
XO7.6

Slap the Monster on Page One

Rita Zigai

TMDB 7.7
Art of Love
XO5.3

Art of Love

Clio

TMDB 5.3
Jenatsch
XO5.3

Jenatsch

Mademoiselle von Planta

TMDB 5.3
A Man Called Sledge
XO6.1

A Man Called Sledge

Sister

IMDb 5.9
Widow's Walk
XO5.7

Widow's Walk

Keli

TMDB 5.7
The Defective Detective
XO7.3

The Defective Detective

Carlotta Batticelli

TMDB 7.3
Marx Can Wait
XO7.3

Marx Can Wait

Irina (archive footage) (uncredited)

TMDB 7.2
Allonsanfan
XO6.9

Allonsanfan

Esther Imbriani

TMDB 6.9
Gli astronomi
XO9.0

Gli astronomi

Pavoncella

TMDB 9.0
Gallant Ladies
XO4.0

Gallant Ladies

Catherine de Medicis

TMDB 4.0
Happiness Costs Nothing
XO3.9

Happiness Costs Nothing

Suora guardiana

TMDB 3.9
The Protagonists
XO5.7

The Protagonists

Judge

IMDb 5.7
The Earth As Seen from the Moon
XO8.2

The Earth As Seen from the Moon

un turista

TMDB 8.1
In the Name of the Father
XO6.4

In the Name of the Father

Franco's Mother

TMDB 6.4
Escape by Night
XO7.0

Escape by Night

Teresa

TMDB 7.0
Noi siamo le colonne

Noi siamo le colonne

La cantante annoiata (no acreditado)

Red Lips
XO10.0

Red Lips

The Painter

TMDB 10.0
Sweets from a Stranger
XO5.0

Sweets from a Stranger

Jolanda

IMDb 5.0
Mother Ebe
XO4.9

Mother Ebe

Lidia Corradi

TMDB 4.9
Far from Manhattan
XO7.8

Far from Manhattan

Madame Hanska

TMDB 7.8
Un eroe borghese
XO6.7

Un eroe borghese

dott.ssa Trebbi

TMDB 6.7
La ribelle
XO4.8

La ribelle

Sister Valida

TMDB 4.8
Suffocating Heat
XO8.0

Suffocating Heat

Laura

TMDB 8.0
Paulina Is Leaving
XO4.0

Paulina Is Leaving

Hortense

TMDB 4.0
Blame it on Paradise
XO6.5

Blame it on Paradise

direttrice

TMDB 6.5
Mario, Maria and Mario
XO5.8

Mario, Maria and Mario

Laura

TMDB 5.8
What Are the Clouds?
XO8.5

What Are the Clouds?

Desdemona

TMDB 8.5
Woman Buried Alive
XO3.5

Woman Buried Alive

Giovanna la Pazza

TMDB 3.5
The Murri Affair
XO6.6

The Murri Affair

Tisa Borghi

TMDB 6.6
Raul - Right to Kill
XO9.0

Raul - Right to Kill

Usuraia

TMDB 9.0
I cammelli
XO5.9

I cammelli

Milena

TMDB 5.9
We Free Kings
XO6.5

We Free Kings

Una delle ragazze del coro

TMDB 6.5
RARA
XO3.3

RARA

1969

TMDB 3.3
Fratella e Sorello
XO10.0

Fratella e Sorello

Presidente Del Tribunale

TMDB 10.0
At Night All Cats Are Crazy
XO7.8

At Night All Cats Are Crazy

Jacqueline

TMDB 7.8
The Seagull
XO5.9

The Seagull

Irina

TMDB 5.9
Renzo e Lucia
XO9.0

Renzo e Lucia

Madre Superiora

TMDB 9.0
La ricotta

La ricotta

1963

TMDB 6.4
Household Accounts
XO10.0

Household Accounts

Contessa Celi Sanguineti

TMDB 10.0
The Little Archimedes
XO8.0

The Little Archimedes

La signora Bondi

TMDB 7.3
The Carpathian Mushroom
XO5.3

The Carpathian Mushroom

Olympia

TMDB 5.2
The Last Day of School Before Christmas
XO7.0

The Last Day of School Before Christmas

Passenger coach

TMDB 7.0
Pasolini and the Secret Humiliation of Chaucer
XO6.0

Pasolini and the Secret Humiliation of Chaucer

Interviewee

TMDB 6.0
Venise en hiver
XO1.0

Venise en hiver

Mme Poli

TMDB 4.0
The Return
XO8.0

The Return

Clara

TMDB 8.0
Le rose blu
XO7.0

Le rose blu

La donna con la rosa blu

TMDB 7.0
Pier Paolo Pasolini : vivre et encore plus

Pier Paolo Pasolini : vivre et encore plus

Elle-même

Stop the World... I Want to Get Off!
XO7.8

Stop the World... I Want to Get Off!

1970

TMDB 7.8
Orgy

Orgy

Donna

TV Shows (5)

Self / Appearances (8)

Directing (1)

Writing (3)

Other Crew (1)