Maria Luisa Mangini (2 February 1928 – 15 February 2011), better known as Dorian Gray, was an Italian actress.

Biography

Gray made her stage debut in 1950, and quickly became a known and acclaimed actress. However, after five years she left the world of the theater and devoted herself to cinema.

The role she played most often in films was that of a seductive sex kitten; most famously, she played the titular "bad girl" in Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina, considered a classic of Italian comedy. However, she also had a chance to demonstrate her dramatic talents in Michelangelo Antonioni's Il grido, to great critical acclaim. In 1957, at the peak of her popularity, she also took part in The Nights of Cabiria by Federico Fellini.

Her career ended by choice soon thereafter. In 1965, awaiting the birth of her son, she retired from acting and never made another public appearance.

Death

On February 15, 2011, Gray committed suicide by gunshot at her home in Torcegno. She was 83 years old; some media, however, reported her age as 75, since she herself claimed to have been born in 1936.

Filmography

• Amo un assassino (1951)
• Il mago per forza (1951)
• Vendetta... sarda (1951)
• Anema e core (1951)
• Accidenti alle tasse!! (1951)
• The Queen of Sheba (1952)
• Lo sai che i papaveri (1952)
• Io piaccio (1955)
• Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge (1956)
• Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina (1956)
• Totò lascia o raddoppia? (1956)
• Guaglione (1957)
• Le notti di Cabiria (1957)
• Il grido (1957)
• Mogli pericolose (1958)
• Domenica è sempre domenica (1958)
• Racconti d'estate (1958)
• Vacanze d'inverno (1959)
• Le sorprese dell'amore (1959)
• Brevi amori a Palma di Majorca (1959)
• Il carro armato dell'8 settembre (1960)
• Il Mattatore (1960)
• La regina delle Amazzoni (1960)
• Gli attendenti (1961)
• Crimen (1961)
• Mani in alto (1961)
• Finden Sie, daß Constanze sich richtig verhält? (de) (1962)
• The Legion's Last Patrol (1962)
• Peccati d'estate (1962)
• Avventura al motel (1963)
• Thrilling (1965)
• I criminali della metropoli (1965)