Person Biography:
Florinda Bolkan was born Florinda Soares Bulcão on [date] in Uruburetama, Ceará, Brazil, to a Brazilian father and an indigenous mother. She was the youngest of three children. Her father, diplomat José Pedro Soares Bulcão, passed away when she was 14 years old. To support her family, Bolkan began working as a secretary while attending school and learning English and French.
She later worked as a flight inspector for Varig, but her life took a dramatic turn when she visited Rome in 1967. Producer Marina Cicogna introduced her to Luchino Visconti, who persuaded her to pursue a career in modeling and acting. Bolkan quickly landed supporting roles in several films, including Crime Thief (1969),Candy (1968),and Visconti's The Damned (1969).
Bolkan chose to use "Bolkan" as her last name, believing it had more international appeal. Despite becoming fluent in Italian, she was usually dubbed in the language due to her thick accent.
As her career took off, Bolkan received critical acclaim for her performances. She won two Golden Plate prizes from the David di Donatello Awards and two more Best Actress awards for her roles in The Anonymous Venetian (1970) and Cari genitori (1973).
Throughout her prime, Bolkan appeared in a range of films, from highbrow Italian productions like Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) and A Brief Vacation (1973) to lower-budget genre films like Machine Gun McCain (1969),Detective Belli (1969),and Don't Torture a Duckling (1972).
Aside from a few international productions, Bolkan rarely worked outside of Italy. She eventually transitioned to television and stage productions, including The Word (1978) and La piovra (1984). In 2000, she wrote, produced, and directed the film Eu Não Conhecia Tururu, which received positive reviews in her home country.
By 2006, Bolkan had retired from acting and now owns and operates the Villa Voltarina in Bracciano. She has also been involved in various other pursuits, including serving as a judge in the 1976 Miss Universe pageant, real estate work, publishing a gourmet cookbook, and supporting Italian and Brazilian children in financial need.
