Elena Cotta

Elena Cotta Ramusino, better known as Elena Cotta, is a venerable Italian actress whose career has spanned more than seven decades, making her one of the most enduring figures in Italian stage, film, and television. Born on 19 August 1931 in Milan, Kingdom of Italy, she displayed an early passion for the performing arts, earning a scholarship to the prestigious Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, but she left after just a year to join the innovative troupe “La compagnia dei giovani,” where she honed her craft in an environment that prized experimental work. In 1951 she made her cinematic debut in the light‑hearted comedy Miracolo a Viggiù, marking the start of a prolific screen presence that would later include memorable roles in The Legend of the Piave (1952) and Your Hands on My Body (1970.**In 1975, together with her husband Carlo Alighiero, she founded her own theatre company, a bold move that underscored her commitment to creative independence and allowed her to shape productions from the ground up. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s she continued to captivate audiences, earning a Best Supporting Actress nomination at both the AFI Awards and the FCCA Awards for her nuanced performance in Kate Woods' Looking for Alibrandi (2000). At the remarkable age of 82, Cotta achieved international acclaim by winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of a stubborn Albanian woman in A Street in Palermo (2013), proving that her talent not only endured but also flourished with time. Her later work includes appearances in Loro (2018), The Man Without Gravity (2019), and Everyone on Board (2022), each role reflecting her versatile ability to embody complex characters. Beyond her artistic achievements, Cotta's personal life has been marked by a long partnership with fellow actor Carlo Alighiero, with whom she shared two children, leaving a legacy that intertwines professional triumph with familial devotion.