Find Out More About Magnani

To remember and honour the identities of the women that inspire us and whose stories we wish to celebrate, we have named each piece of jewellery after a female pioneer at the forefront of Italian history.

This true piece pays homage to the celebrated Italian post-war actress Anna Magnani.

Born in 1908 as an illegitimate child, she grew up in poverty in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood. The struggles of her youth later informed the choice of her film roles. She led by example, when she refused to exploit her sexuality to advance her acting career. Instead she shunned glamour and strove to play strong female leads, such as Italian working-class women in their passionate and often futile struggles for love and justice. Like no other Italian actress, Magnani embodied the daily battle of Italian women on screen. Her international breakthrough came when she appeared in Roberto Rossellini’s classic Neorealist film Roma Città Aperta in 1945 and ultimately in 1955 when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe for her leading role in The Rose Tattoo. Her exceptional and raw talent as an actress and her ability to encapsulate the pain and difficulties of post-war Italy made her the foremost actress of Italian neo-realist cinema and earned her a place amongst Italy’s greatest performers.