Very serious mourning in the cinema, the timeless actress has died: the sad announcement comes from her son

The actress’s international recognition came in 1960 with her participation in the Cannes Film Festival to present “La Dolce Vita”.

Mourning in the world of the great cinemathe one made of historic faces and timeless icons. The French actress naturalized American Yvonne Furneaux, who became famous throughout the world for the role of Emma, ​​the amorous girlfriend of the journalist Marcello Rubini (he, instead, played by Marcello Mastroianni) in Federico Fellini’s film “La dolce vita” (1960), passed away at the age of 98.

The actress was at her home in North Hampton, New Hampshire (in the United States), and died following complications from a stroke. The news of his death, which occurred several days ago, on July 5, was communicated to the public only today by his son Nicholas Natteau through ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.

Furneaux has also played major roles in other memorable filmssuch as “Le amiche” (1955), a success at the Venice Film Festival, which was a turning point for Michelangelo Antonioni, where she played a worldly and vengeful woman. The actress also took part in the psychological thriller “Repulsion” (1965), Roman Polanski’s third film, in which she played the older sister of the disturbed Carol Ledoux (Catherine Deneuve). She was the protagonist of the horror film “The Mummy” (1959) by Terence Fisher in which she played the dual role of Isobel Banning and Princess Ananka.

Yvonne Furneaux was born on May 11, 1926 in Roubaix, France, to English parents. After a few years, she moved with her family to England. She studied at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1951. Her “stage name” Furneaux was chosen from her mother’s maiden name.

He made his theatre debut in 1952 with “Macbeth” and “The Taming of the Shrew”, and in the same year he began his film career. In 1953, director Peter Brook offered her a role in “The Robber.” She began to gain attention opposite Errol Flynn in “The Prince of Scotland.” She then landed a string of adventure films, including Michael Anderson’s “The House of the Arrow” (1953), with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., “The Javanese Dagger” (1954) and “The Master of Don Juan” (1954) with Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida.

Returning to lighter roles, the actress starred for the third time with Flynn in Henry Levin’s “The Black Avenger” (1955). Ray Milland chose her for “Lisbon” (1956), but the international consecration arrived in 1960 with his participation at the Cannes Film Festival to present Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita”, which won the Palme d’Or.

After several French films, Furneaux returned to Italy for Dino Risi’s “In nome del popolo italiano” (1971). Twelve years later, she took part in “Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie” (1984), then retired and lived for a long time in Lausanne, Switzerland. She later decided to move to the United States. The actress was married to the French cinematographer Jacques Natteaumet during the filming of “The Count of Monte Cristo” in the early 1960s.