Model and actress born and raised in Acireale, a small town near Catania. She became Miss Catania in 1953 and was discovered by talent scouts after competing for Miss Italy. Rocca made her film debut in “Marchands de Filles” (1957) directed by Maurice Cloche’s, and also appeared in the Riccardo Freda’s “Caltiki – il mostro immortale” (1959), and “Esther and the King” (1960).
More film roles followed, but Rocca did not find fame until “Divorzio all’Italiana” (1961) directed by Pietro Germi. Rocca became a star after playing the part of the smothering wife Marcello Mastroianni is desperate to escape. Rocca fell in love with Germi during the film making and attempted suicide when he rejected her. After her suicide attempt, she was considered unstable and was not offered any more significant roles. A nervous breakdown led to a stay in a mental hospital.
After playing minor roles in movies and television, her show business career ended in 1967. In a retirement home in Milo, near Catania, Rocca wrote four books (Agente segreto con licenza di vivere, Avvocato offresi, Il condannato a morte, and Psicoanalisi, sogni, fantasie nascosti nella mente) and a collection of poems, Ara.
Read More:
1. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela_Rocca
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