Anna Magnani
Italian stamp featuring Anna Magnani, printed c. 2008
Date of Birth: 7 March, 1908
Place of Birth: Rome, Lazio, Kingdom of Italy
Date of Death: 26 September, 1973
Place of Death: Rome, Lazio, Italy
Ethnicity: Italian
Anna Magnani was an Italian actress of stage and film. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Rose Tattoo (1955). She was the first actress of Italian origin nominated for the lead Actress Oscar.
Anna’s biological father, Pietro Del Duce, was from Calabria, Italy, possibly from Tropea, Calabria. Anna’s mother, Marina Magnani, was a tailor from Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Marina moved to Egypt, where she re-married to a rich Austrian man. Anna had a son with actor Massimo Serato. Her granddaughter is actress Olivia Magnani.
Anna’s maternal grandfather was named Ferdinando Magnani. Ferdinando was a baker.
Anna’s maternal grandmother was named Giovanna Casadio. Anna was raised by her maternal grandmother, who was also from Ravenna.
There are statements and rumors that Anna had Egyptian and/or Jewish ancestry. These claims are unverified.
Sources: http://bologna.repubblica.it
Genealogy of Anna Magnani (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Her biological father was said to have roots in the town of Tropea, Calabria,, according to various websites.
her granddaughter is actress Olivia Magnani: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Magnani
https://www.geni.com/people/Anna-Magnani/6000000031985072974
Anna’s mother was Marina Magnani, a tailor from Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Marina moved to Egypt, where she re-married to a rich Austrian man. Anna was raised by her maternal grandmother, Giovanna Casadio, also from Ravenna. Giovanna’s husband was Ferdinando Magnani, a baker.
Anna’s biological father was Pietro Del Duce, from Calabria, Italy.
http://bologna.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/03/05/news/magnani-108845717/
the quote from Zeffirelli’s autobiography on Wikipedia is totally wrong. The Egyptyan rumour was born because her mother re-married in Egypt. Anna later discovered the identity of her biological father, who was Italian.