Person Details

Birthday: 1904-12-06 18:17:16

Death: 1948-10-21 18:17:16

Aliases: Элисса Ланди

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Venice, Italy

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 24

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

Elissa Landi (December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Italian born actress who was popular in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. Rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, she was noted for her aristocratic bearing. Born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt in Venice, Landi was raised in Austria and educated in England. Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty. She would return to writing during lulls in her acting career. She joined the Oxford Repertory Company at an early age, appearing in many British and American stage successes. During the 1920s she appeared in British, French, and German films before travelling to the United States to appear in a Broadway production of A Farewell to Arms. She was signed to a contact by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox) in 1931. She played the heroine in Cecil B. De Mille's The Sign of the Cross (1932), but was overshadowed by Claudette Colbert who played the flashier role of Poppea. She was paired successfully with some of the major leading men, such as David Manners, Charles Farrell, Warner Baxter, and Ronald Colman in romantic dramas such as Body and Soul (1931) before appearing in the box office hit The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) with Robert Donat. Her contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas she played the cousin of Myrna Loy in the very popular After the Thin Man (1936). After only two more films she retired, in 1943. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems. She died from cancer in Kingston, New York, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Elissa Landi has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1615 Vine St. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elissa Landi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Famous Work

The Count of Monte Cristo
Average
7

The Count of Monte Cristo

(1934) Mercedes
The Sign of the Cross
Average
6

The Sign of the Cross

(1932) Mercia
Underground
Average
7

Underground

(1928) Nell
Corregidor
Average
5

Corregidor

(1943) Dr. Royce Lee Stockman
Without Regret
Average
0

Without Regret

(1935) Jennifer Gage
The Woman in Room 13
Average
0

The Woman in Room 13

(1932) Laura Ramsey
Body and Soul
Average
4

Body and Soul

(1931) Carla
The Yellow Ticket
Average
5

The Yellow Ticket

(1931) Marya Kalish

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
1943 Dr. Royce Lee Stockman
1937 Helen Trent
Herself - the Hostess
1936 Selma Forrest Landis
Peter Dean
Lady Cleone Meredith
1935 Princess Aurore
Jennifer Gage
Lisa Della Robbia
1934 Mercedes
Zita Marishka
Joan Pemberton
1933 Marie
Eve Chilcote
Vicki Meredith
Antiope
1932 Mercia
Myra Carson
Laura Ramsey
Evelyn Beresford
1931 Marya Kalish
Margot Rande
Lila Banning
Carla
1930 Binnie
Anthea Dayre
Korah Hurley / Collette
1928 Kersti
Nell
Françoise-Marie / La Monita
1927 Alice Cranston
Year Character Movie/Tv

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