Giovanna Ralli
Nude

A cross between Natalie Wood and Sophia Loren, Italian actress Giovanna Ralli was born in Rome, and born to be on the screen. She started acting at just seven years of age, and at 15, appeared in Federico Fellini’s Variety Lights (1950). She grabbed the role of Marcella Passaguai for the films The Passaguai Family (1951) and La famiglia Passaguai fa fortuna (1952), and by the time she was done, had established herself as a staple in Italian cinema. In 1953 alone, she appeared in nine films, with another 23 to carry her through the end of the ‘50s, 19 more in the ‘60s, and 12 more in the ‘70s. She didn’t even stop to do any television until 1989, and even then, it was only TV movies until her first series role as Elisabetta in Un prete tra noi in 1997. Those films in the ‘50s, though, were what brought her the most fame and popularity, the bulk of them being comedies, with a few dramas thrown in for balance. A few memorable titles from that era include Love in the City (1953), Madame du Barry (1954), A Hero of Our Times (1955), The Bigamist (1956), and La camerier(1959). In the ‘60s, she went beyond her home country to play Gina Romano in Blake Edwards’ What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), and Angela in The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967) in Hollywood; Fe in the UK’s Deadfall (1968) with Michael Caine; and Columba in the Italy, Spain, US collab The Mercenary (1968); as well as playing Leonora Cristobal in the 1970 flick Canon for Cordoba with George Peppard. Giovanna then appeared as Oslavia in the comedy drama (mostly drama) Italian film A Prostitute Serving the Public and in Compliance with the Laws of the State (1971), included here simply because Mr. Skin likes the really, really long title. You can see her rump, and an Italian guy taking a bite out of it in Colpita da improvviso benessere(1976). In 2003, Giovanna was made a Grand Officer of the Italian Republic (like when the queen knights you), and, equally as impressive, she was on the cover of Italian Playboy in February 1976. Priorities, people!