Diane Cilento facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Diane Cilento
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Cilento in 1954
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Born | Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia
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2 April 1932
Died | 6 October 2011 Cairns, Queensland, Australia
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(aged 79)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950–2011 |
Spouse(s) |
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Children | 2, including Jason Connery |
Parents |
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Relatives | Margaret Cilento (sister) |
Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress and writer. She is best known for her film roles in Tom Jones (1963), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, Hombre (1967) and The Wicker Man (1973). She also received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Helen of Troy in the play Tiger at the Gates.
Contents
Early life
Cilento was born in Mooloolaba, Queensland, the daughter of Phyllis (née McGlew) and Raphael Cilento, both medical practitioners in Queensland. She was the fifth of six children; four of her siblings became medical practitioners, while her sister Margaret was an artist. Cilento's paternal great-grandfather, Salvatore Cilento, arrived from Naples, Italy, in 1855. Her maternal grandfather was merchant and exporter Charles Thomas McGlew.
It was from a young age that Cilento decided to follow a career as an actress. After being expelled from school in Australia, she was schooled in New York whilst living with her father. Cilento later won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and moved to Britain in the early 1950s.
Career
After graduation, Cilento found work on stage almost immediately and was signed to a five-year contract by Alexander Korda. Her first leading film role was in the British film Passage Home (1955), opposite fellow Australian Peter Finch.
She soon secured roles in British films and worked steadily until the end of the decade. In 1956, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for Helen of Troy in Jean Giraudoux's Tiger at the Gates. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Tom Jones in 1963 and appeared in The Third Secret the following year.
She starred with Paul Newman in the 1967 western film Hombre, and had a supporting role in The Wicker Man (1973).
Cilento continued working as an actress, in films and television. In the 1980s, she settled in Mossman, north of Cairns, where she built her own outdoor theatre, named "Karnak", in the tropical rainforest. The venture allowed her to participate in experimental drama.
In 2001, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for "distinguished service to the arts, especially theatre".
Personal life
In 1955, Cilento married Andrea Volpe, an Italian aristocrat. She gave birth to their daughter Giovanna Volpe in 1957. Cilento and Volpe divorced in 1962.
In 1962, Cilento married actor Sean Connery. They had a son, Jason (born 1963), before separating in 1971 and divorcing in 1974.
In 1985, Cilento married playwright Anthony Shaffer, whom she met in 1972, while working on the film The Wicker Man. They remained together until his death in 2001.
Death
Cilento died of cancer at Cairns Base Hospital on 6 October 2011.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1951 | Captain Horatio Hornblower | Maria Hornblower (voice) | Uncredited |
1952 | Wings of Danger | Jeannette | |
1952 | Moulin Rouge | Midinette | Uncredited |
1953 | All Hallowe'en | Harriet | Short film |
1953 | Meet Mr. Lucifer | Woman on the street | Uncredited |
1954 | The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp | The Angel | |
1954 | The Passing Stranger | Jill | |
1955 | Passage Home | Ruth Elton | |
1955 | The Woman for Joe | Mary | |
1957 | The Admirable Crichton | Tweeny | |
1957 | The Truth About Women | Ambrosine Viney | |
1959 | Jet Storm | Angelica Como | |
1960 | The Full Treatment | Denise Colby | |
1961 | The Naked Edge | Mrs. Heath | |
1962 | I Thank a Fool | Liane Dane | |
1963 | Tom Jones | Molly Seagrim | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Laurel Award for Top Female Supporting Performance (4th place) |
1964 | The Third Secret | Anne Tanner | |
1964 | Rattle of a Simple Man | Cyrenne | |
1965 | Once Upon a Tractor | Geraldine | Short film |
1967 | Hombre | Jessie | |
1968 | Negatives | Reingard | |
1972 | Z.P.G. | Edna | |
1973 | Hitler: The Last Ten Days | Hanna Reitsch | |
1973 | The Wicker Man | Miss Rose | |
1975 | The Tiger Lily | Charlotte Brain | |
1982 | Duet for Four | Margot Mason | Feature film, AUSTRALIA |
1985 | The Boy Who Had Everything | Mother | Feature film, AUSTRALIA |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1951 | A Tomb with a View | Amy Heron | TV film, UK |
1955 | The Alcoa Hour | Small Servant | TV series UK, Episode: "The Small Servant" |
1956 | The Taming of the Shrew | Bianca | TV film, UK |
1956 | Film Fanfare | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1957 | Rich And Rich | Herself - Guest | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1957–1961 | ITV Television Playhouse | Various roles | TV series UK, 2 episodes |
1958 | Television World Theatre | Nina Leeds Evans | TV series UK, Episodes: "Strange Interlude: Part 1 & 2" |
1959–1964 | ITV Play of the Week | Various roles | TV series UK, 2 episodes |
1959 | Sunday Night Theatre | Anne | TV series UK, Episode: "The Concert" |
1960 | Armchair Theatre | Sadie Thompson | TV series, 1 Episode: "Rain" |
1961 | Vanity Fair | Becky Sharp | TV series U, 1 Episode: "Part 1" |
1963 | Espionage | Lina | TV series UK, 1 Episode: "Festival of Pawns" |
1964 | The 36th Annual Academy Awards | Herself - Nominee | TV special, US |
1964 | Festival | Lysistrata | TV series UK, 1 Episode: "Lysistrata" |
1964 | Juke Box Jury | Herself - Panellist | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1965 | Blackmail | Euphrasia Jones | TV series UK, 1 Episode: "Cut Yourself a Slice of Throat" |
1966 | Court Martial | TV series UK, Episode: "La Belle France" | |
1966 | The Eamonn Andrews Show | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1967 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Penelope | TV series UK, 1 Episode: "Another Moon Called Earth" |
1967 | Dial M for Murder | Margo Wendice | TV film, UK |
1967 | Whicker's World | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1967 | Good Company | Herself | TV series US, 1 episode |
1967 | The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson | Herself - Guest | TV series US, 1 episode |
1968 | Late Night Horror | Lady Sannox | TV series US, 1 Episode: "The Kiss of Blood" |
1968 | The Frankie Howerd Show | Herself | TV special, UK |
1968 | Sydney Tonight | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1969 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre: Rogues' Gallery | Lady Sarah Bellasize | TV series UK, Regular role, 6 episodes |
1970 | Morecombe & Wise | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1971 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself | TV series US, 1 episode |
1971 | The David Frost Show | Herself | TV series UK, 2 episodes |
1972 | The Persuaders! | Kate Sinclair | TV series UK, 1 Episode: "A Death in the Family" |
1973 | Thriller | Clara | TV series UK, Episode: "Spell of Evil" |
1974 | The Book Programme | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1975 | Affairs of the Heart | Elizabeth Damerel | TV series UK, Episode: "Elizabeth" |
1975 | The 17th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself - Presenter | TV special |
1975 | Celebrity Squares | Herself | TV series, 2 episodes |
1978 | Cappriccio! | Herself | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
1978 | Everyman | Herself - Narrator | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1978 | Tycoon | Diana Clark | TV series UK, Regular role, 13 episodes |
1979 | Call My Bluff | Herself | TV series UK, 2 episodes |
1979-1984 | The Mike Walsh Show | Herself | TV series, 4 episodes |
1980 | The British Greats | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1980 | Big Toys | Mag | ABC TV film |
1981 | Parkinson In Australia | Herself | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
1981 | Diane Cilento: I Love Music | Herself - Host | TV special |
1981 | The 1981 Australian Film Awards | Herself - Presenter | ABC TV special |
1982 | Diane Cilento Festa Italiana | Herself | TV special |
1983 | For The Term Of His Natural Life | Lady Elinor Devine | TV miniseries, Recurring role, 2 episodes |
1983 | Willesee: Survival | Herself | TV special |
1985 | Fountain Of Youth | Herself | Film documentary |
1985 | Out Of Shot | Herself - Narrator | Film documentary |
1986 | The 1986 Australian Film Institute Awards | Herself - Presenter | TV special |
1987;1992 | Sunday Afternoon | Herself | ABC TV series, 2 episodes |
1988 | Queensland Day Royal Expo Concert | Herself - Host | TV special |
1989 | Burke's Backyard | Herself - Celebrity gardener | TV series, 1 episode |
1993–1994 | Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left | Authoritax / Principa | TV series, Recurring role, 6 episodes |
1994;1995 | Good Morning Australia | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1994 | Ten Eyewitness News | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1995;1998 | Good Morning Australia | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1998 | Good Morning Australia | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1999 | Laws | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
2003 | The Brits Go To Hollywood | Herself | TV series UK, 1 episode |
2004 | Australian Story | Herself | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
2006 | Enough Rope With Andrew Denton | Herself | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
2006 | Mornings With Kerri-Anne | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
2007 | Ken Adam's Production Films: You Only Live Twice | Herself | Video |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Location | Notes |
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1955 | Tiger at the Gates | Helen | Helen Hayes Theatre | Theatre World Award Nominated — Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
1959 | Heartbreak House | Ellie Dunn | Billy Rose Theatre | |
1960 | The Good Soup | Marie-Paule II | Plymouth Theatre |
Writings
- 1967 novel: The Manipulator. Charles Scribner's Sons.
- 1970 novel: Hybrid. Dell Publishing.
- 2007 autobiography: My Nine Lives. Penguin Books. ISBN: 9780143006077
See also
In Spanish: Diane Cilento para niños