Mini Biography

Anna Maria Pierangeli was born June 19, 1932, in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Anna and her twin sister, Marisa Pavan, both had their eyes on become film stars, since that was one of the big Italian pastimes. Anna adopted her surname and split it in half, and it was as Pier Angeli that she would find fame. Her first role was an uncredited part in 1948's The Million Dollar Nickel (1952), an Italian production. Pier was 16 at the time and it was to be the first of many roles for this beautiful woman. The film was largely forgettable but it was a start. The following year she played in another Italian production, Domani è troppo tardi (1950). Again it was a very small role, and she was not seen on the screen again until 1951. Between 1949 and 1951 she appeared in stage productions and found work in menial jobs. When she did return it was in the film The Light Touch (1952) as Anna Vasarri. Later that year she won the title role in Teresa (1951). However, she again hit a drought with only one film in 1952 and two in 1953. The next year things began to pick up, however, with Hollywood beckoning at her door. After the Italian Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954) she caught the eyes of Hollywood moguls, who cast her in Flame and the Flesh (1954) and The Silver Chalice (1954). Now she divided her time between Italy and the US making movies. She married Vic Damone in 1954, a union that lasted only four years and produced one son.

No film offers came in 1955, but in 1956 Pier landed the plum role of Norma Graziano (wife of fighter Rocky Graziano) in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) opposite Paul Newman. The film was well received at the box office and she had hopes that things were going to pick up again. She played Ynez in Port Afrique (1956) later that year and then another drought ensued. After The Vintage (1957), Merry Andrew (1958) and SOS Pacific (1959), she made three more films in 1960. Then once again 1961 saw no appearances. In 1962 Pier played Ildith in Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) and later that year played in a French production entitled L'ammutinamento (1961). After the Italian production of Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (1964) she returned in the hit European-American co-production Battle of the Bulge (1965).

After a handful of films between 1966 and 1970, Pier realized her dreams of superstardom were not to be. She had divorced her second husband (Armando Trovajoli) in 1969 and made her final appearance on the screen in 1971 in the low-budget sci-fi opus Octaman (1971). On September 10 of that year Pier was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her Beverly Hills home. She was only 39 years old.

Filmography

1. Octaman (1971) .... Susan Lowry

2. Quell'amore particolare (1970) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Cecilia

3. Nelle pieghe della carne (1970) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Falesse/Ester

4. Addio, Alexandra (1969) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Alexandra

5. ¡Viva América! (1969) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli)

6. Kol Mamzer Melech (1968) .... Eileen

7. Caccia ai violenti (1968) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Mrs. Benton

8. Rose rosse per il führer (1968) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Marie

9. Missione mortale Molo 83 (1966) .... Hélène Blanchard

10. Per mille dollari al giorno (1966) (as Annamaria Pierangeli) .... Betty Benson

11. Battle of the Bulge (1965) .... Louise

12. Berlino - Appuntamento per le spie (1965) .... Paula Krauss

13. Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (1964) .... Lila

14. Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) .... Ildith

15. L'ammutinamento (1961) (as Anna Maria Pierangeli) .... Polly

16. The Angry Silence (1960) .... Anna Curtis

17. I moschettieri del mare (1960) .... Consuelo / Gracia

18. SOS Pacific (1959) .... Teresa

19. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" .... Bernadette Soubirous (1 episode, 1958)

- Song of Bernadette (1958) TV episode .... Bernadette Soubirous

20. Merry Andrew (1958) .... Selena Gallini

21. The Vintage (1957) .... Lucienne

22. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) .... Norma

23. Port Afrique (1956) .... Ynez

24. The Silver Chalice (1954) .... Deborra

25. Flame and the Flesh (1954) .... Lisa

26. Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954) .... Denise de Flavigny/Nitouche

27. Sombrero (1953) .... Eufemia Calderon

28. The Story of Three Loves (1953) .... Nina Burkhardt (segment "Equilibrium")

29. The Devil Makes Three (1952) .... Wilhelmina (Willie) Lehrt

30. The Light Touch (1952) .... Anna Vasarri

31. Teresa (1951) .... Teresa Russo

32. Domani è un altro giorno (1951) .... Luisa

33. Domani è troppo tardi (1950) .... Mirella

From imdb.com

Pier and James Dean

Some HQs...

Thanks!

thanks!

Very beautiful

thanks for her topic

Wow, COP11! Did she really die in 1971, or did she quietly retire to Oklahoma, waiting until today to publish her scrapbook?