
Genoa, Liguria, Italy
Lyda Borelli (22 March 1884 - 2 June 1959) was an Italian actress, her career in theatre started in 1902. Between 1913 and 1918 Borelli made 14 films and appeared in 2 documentaries. She often portrayed vamps who end up committing suicide via poison. Her acting was mainly based on excessive gestures, painful expressions and languid gazes. Antonio Gramsci, who, in 1917 worked as a theatre reviewer, criticised her stating she represented a heightened form of sensuality, "a part of a primordial and prehistoric humanity" that had managed to cast a spell on the audience.
as (archive footage)

1953

as Contessa Alba d'Oltrevita
1917
as (archive footage)
1991

as Madame Tallien
1916

as Lyda
1915

as Grazia di Plessans
1915

as Elsa Holbein
1913

as Lyda
1913

as Lolette
1914

as Thea di Marlievo
1916

1918

as Marina di Malombra
1917

1999
as (archive footage)
1991
1991

1953

as Saint Barbara
1918

1918

1918
1917

as Contessa Alba d'Oltrevita
1917

as Marina di Malombra
1917

as Madame Tallien
1916

as Thea di Marlievo
1916

as Grazia di Plessans
1915

as Lyda
1915

as Lolette
1914

as Lyda
1913

as Elsa Holbein
1913