Pupella Maggio (born Giustina Maria Maggio; 24 April 1910 – 8 December 1999) was an Italian film actress.
Life and career Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio debuted on stage aged twelve years old, as the sidekick of her brother Beniamino. She later worked with several companies, including the ones led by Rina Morelli and by Eduardo De Filippo, where after the death of Titina De Filippo she inherited most of her roles.Antonio Virgilio Savona; Michele Lo Straniero. "Maggio, Famiglia". Gino Castaldo (edited by). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 959–960.
She settled in Todi, where she continued to deal with cinema. She was the mother, now elderly, of the main character in Giuseppe Tornatore's 1988 Oscar-winning film Cinema Paradiso . In 1997, she wrote and published her first and only novel, the autobiographical Poca luce in tanto spazio (A Little Light in a Lot of Space) edited by Carlo Grassetti. Maggio also appeared in several films, winning the Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Luigi Zampa's Be Sick... It's Free.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1947 Bullet for Stefano Marta 1947 Lost in the Dark 1954 The Doctor of the Mad 1958 Mogli pericolose Aurelia Bertuetti a.k.a. "Lolita" 1958 Serenatella sciuè sciuè Tina Paradiso 1958 Il terribile Teodoro 1959 La Fortuna Con L'effe Maiuscola 1959 La duchessa di Santa Lucia 1959 Il terrore dell'Oklahoma 1959 Sogno di una notte di mezza sbornia Filumena 1960 Anônimas Cocottes 1960 Mariti in pericolo Lucia 1960 Two Women Peasant 1960 Caravan petrol 1960 A Qualcuna Piace Calvo Marcella's Mother 1962 The Four Days of Naples Arturo's Mother Uncredited 1966 The Bible: In the Beginning... Noah's Wife 1968 Be Sick... It's Free Mrs. Antonietta Parisi 1971 Il Prof. Dott. Guido Tersilli Antonietta Parisi 1972 The Valachi Papers Letizia Reina 1973 Amarcord Miranda Biondi 1981 Lacrime napulitane 1988 Cinema Paradiso Maria (old) 1988 Days of Inspector Ambrosio Rosa Cuomo 1990 Sabato, domenica e lunedì Zia Memé 2002 Fate come noi Giustina (final film role)
References
External links
Massimo Colella, Profilo biografico di attori partenopei del XX secolo: IV. Pupella Maggio, 2022 (https://www.centrostuditeatro.it/2022/03/pupella-maggio/).