Silvana Mangano (Italian pronunciation: [sil?va?na ?ma?ɡano]; 21 April 1930[1] – 16 December 1989[2]) was an Italian actress. Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946.[2] This led to work in films; she achieved notable success in Bitter Rice (1949) and continued working in films for almost four more decades.