Lina Wertmüller
A fearless Italian filmmaker who used satire and farce to dissect politics, sex, and class, becoming the first woman nominated for a Best Director Oscar.
1928–2021 (age 93)·Italian director and screenwriter·Birthday: August 14·The Silent Generation
Biography
Lina Wertmüller entered cinema with a roar, not a whisper. After studying theater and working as a puppeteer, she became an assistant to Federico Fellini on '8½,' an apprenticeship in bold, personal filmmaking. She quickly found her own voice—loud, chaotic, and unapologetically provocative. In the 1970s, she unleashed a series of films starring Giancarlo Giannini that became international art-house sensations. In 'The Seduction of Mimi,' 'Love and Anarchy,' and the Oscar-nominated 'Seven Beauties,' she crafted a unique style: a whirlwind of political satire, sexual warfare, and social commentary, all wrapped in the exaggerated tones of commedia dell'arte. Her work was a rollercoaster of ideas, often controversial for its treatment of gender and power, but impossible to ignore. Her 1977 Oscar nomination for Best Director broke a forty-eight-year male streak, a historic moment that paved the way for others, though it took decades for the Academy to honor her with an honorary award in 2019.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Lina was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Lina Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Lina's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 70
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 80
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2021Died at 93
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
Key Achievements
- First woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, for 'Seven Beauties' in 1977.
- Won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival for 'Seven Beauties' in 1975.
- Created a iconic series of politically charged 1970s films starring Giancarlo Giannini, including 'The Seduction of Mimi' and 'Love and Anarchy.'
- Received an Honorary Academy Award in 2019 for her groundbreaking career.
- Her film 'Swept Away' (1974) inspired a Hollywood remake directed by Guy Ritchie.
Did You Know?
She often wore distinctive white-rimmed glasses, which became her trademark.
Her birth name was Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg.
She was nominated for four Oscars in a single year (1977) for 'Seven Beauties' (Director, Original Screenplay, Foreign Language Film) and 'Pasqualino Settebellezze' (Costume Design).
She directed an episode of the American TV series 'The Office' in 2013.
She was a member of the jury at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
“I have always tried to tell stories about the powerless, because they are the ones who interest me.”
