Yvonne Furneaux, the 1950s and 1960s actress who starred in films such as Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion, has died at the age of 98.
“Yes, it is sad to say that my mother has passed away,” her son, Nicholas Nato, confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Nato confirmed that Furneaux died on July 5 at his New Hampshire home from complications from a stroke. The Hollywood Reporter.
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Yvonne Furneau died at her New Hampshire home from complications from a stroke. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
“Yes, sadly, it’s true. My mother has passed away.”
Furneaux was born Elizabeth Yvonne Scatcherd to English parents in France on May 11, 1926. She and her family emigrated to England, where she attended St Hilda’s College, Oxford University, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Furneaux graduated in 1951.
Furno went on to become an actress, using her mother’s maiden name as her stage name. She appeared in her first films in 1952 in See You Tonight and Love Story at Monte Carlo. In 1953 she starred opposite Laurence Olivier in The Beggar’s Opera. That same year she played Errol Flynn’s mistress in The Master of Ballantrae. Furno and Flynn also appeared together in Crossed Swords in 1954 and The Warriors in 1955.
Yvonne Furneaux starred in La Dolce Vita, still hailed as one of Federico Fellini’s greatest films. (Silver Screen Collection/Archive Photo/Getty Images)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Furneaux appeared in films in Italy, France, Germany and Spain over the course of a career that spanned decades.
She rose to fame in Michelangelo Antonioni’s breakthrough film, The Friend, in 1955. In 1959, she played the female lead in the horror film The Mummy, starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
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Yvonne Furneau poses to promote the 1955 film “The Warriors.” (Screen Archives/Getty Images)
In 1960, Furneaux starred in La Dolce Vita, still hailed as one of Fellini’s greatest masterpieces, before trying her hand at a psychological thriller in Polanski’s Repulsion in 1965, playing Catherine Deneuve’s mentally ill sister.
Furno’s other film appearances include Lisbon in 1956, Dr Mabuse’s Death Ray in 1964, and The Champagne Murders in 1967. She also appeared in the 1965 British television series Danger Man, an episode of which starred Patrick McGoohan.
Yvonne Furneaux has appeared in Italian, French, German and Spanish films. (John Drysdale/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Furneaux’s final credited role was as Frankenstein’s Great-Aunt Tilly in 1984 before retiring from film. Il Messaggero in ItalyShe lived in Switzerland before moving to the United States.
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French-British actress Yvonne Furneaux and her husband, French cinematographer Jacques Nato (1920-2007), circa 1962. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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The screen beauty met French cinematographer Jacques Nato on the set of “The Count of Monte Cristo” in 1961. The two married in 1962 and remained together until Nato’s death in 2007.
Survivors include Furno’s son and daughter-in-law, Leiva, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
