Joi Lansing

She died of breast cancer. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6381 Hollywood Blvd. Some of these films, particularly "The Web of Love," have gone on to become camp classics. Her single marriage, to director Goffredo Alessandrini, did not last long. She starred in short musical films for the Scopitone video-jukebox system, which anticipated MTV by decades. Magnani had celebrated love affairs, with director Roberto Rossellini and with actor Massimo Serato, with whom she had a son, who was stricken with polio. Later movie roles included a part in 1967's "Hillbillies in a Haunted House.". She also starred in The Secret of Santa Vittoria.

In 1952, she played a uncredited role in the MGM blockbuster "Singing in the Rain." On television she appeared on "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok," "I Love Lucy," and "The Beverly Hillbillies" in a recurring role. In 1957, she was nominated for Best Actress for Wild is the Wind. Her earliest work was as a model, and she began her film career in 1948. In 1955 she went to Hollywood, and starred in the film version of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. A buxom blonde model and actress, Lansing was often cast in roles similar to those played by contemporaries Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. She attended the Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome, paying her way by working at nightclubs and cabarets. She had a small part in a silent film, Scampolo, in 1928, but did not become well-known until the 1940s, starring in Vittori DiSica's Teresa Venerdì and in Roma, città aperta (Open City). Joi Lansing was the screen name of Joyce Wassmansdoff, born in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 6, 1928. When she was abandoned by her mother at an early age, Anna was raised by her maternal grandmother.

Born in Rome (although some biographies say Egypt), she was born illegitimate, and never knew who her father was. Anna Magnani (March 7, 1908 - September 26, 1973) was an Italian actress.