Giovanna Scoglio, a striking and reserved yet sensitive foreign import, was born in Liverpool, England, but relocated to Sicily with her aristocratic Sicilian father and Irish mother at just three months of age. She later migrated to New York at the age of 14 and attended Bayside High School in Queens, graduating in 1952.
While working various jobs as a file clerk and airline reservations taker, Scoglio simultaneously studied with Stella Adler and the Actors Studio. Her big break came when she appeared as a contestant on a television game show, which caught the attention of a Universal Studios agent who promptly signed her to a contract in 1954.
Scoglio quickly rose through the Hollywood ranks, earning praise for her "second lead" roles. Her standout performances in films such as The Price of Fear (1956),The Garment Jungle (1957),Don't Go Near the Water (1957),The Two-Headed Spy (1958),The Angry Hills (1959),and I Aim at the Stars (1960) solidified her status as a rising star.
Her most iconic role came as the mute Anna, a Greek resistance fighter, in the epic film The Guns of Navarone (1961),which boasted an all-star cast including Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn.
However, Scoglio's personal and professional life began to spiral downward. She struggled with deep-rooted insecurities, which were exacerbated by the loss of her beloved mother. She turned to heavy drinking as a coping mechanism, leading to a few arrests and the eventual loss of her contract at Universal due to her unreliability.
Scoglio's marriage to actor Don Burnett, whom she co-starred with in The Triumph of Robin Hood (1962),ultimately ended in failure. At one point, she attempted to take her own life by jumping off London's Waterloo Bridge, but was saved by a passing cab driver.
Her struggles with depression continued, and she was forced to undergo frequent psychiatric observations. Scoglio attempted to find solace in painting and staying close to her younger sister, actress Tina Scala.
Tragically, her struggles ultimately proved too much to overcome. On April 30, 1972, Scoglio was found dead in her Hollywood Hills bedroom, the result of an accidental overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills. This talented and beautiful actress, who never reached her full potential in Hollywood, instead became another tragic statistic in the city of dreams.
