Lia Franca

Born in Trieste, Franca started her career winning a beauty contest, "Miss Trieste", in 1927. Eager to pursue a film career, Franca moved to Turin, where she tried without success, and finally moved to Rome where she started her brief career. She debuted in 1930 with the short film Arietta Antica, and then starred in Resurrection by Alessandro Blasetti, the first Italian sound film, thus becoming the first Italian actress to have spoken in a film. Franca is best known for the role of Mariuccia in Mario Camerini's What Scoundrels Men Are!, starred alongside Vittorio De Sica; at the height of her success, Franca decided to marry the film director Mario Sequi, retiring from cinema.