Pupella Maggio

Pupella Maggio (born Giustina Maria Maggio; 24 April 1910 – 8 December 1999) was an Italian film actress.

Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio debuted on stage aged twelve years old, as the sidekick of her brother Beniamino. She later worked with several companies, including the ones led by Rina Morelli and by Eduardo De Filippo, where after the death of Titina De Filippo she inherited most of her roles.

She settled in Todi, where she continued to deal with cinema. She was the mother, now elderly, of the main character in Giuseppe Tornatore's 1988 Oscar-winning film Cinema Paradiso . In 1997, she wrote and published her first and only novel, the autobiographical Poca luce in tanto spazio (A Little Light in a Lot of Space) edited by Carlo Grassetti. Maggio also appeared in several films, winning the Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Luigi Zampa's Be Sick... It's Free.