Rome, Dec 18 (AZINS) Famed Italian actress and winner of numerous awards Virna Lisi died Thursday in Rome. She was 78.

During her career which started as a teenager in 1953, Lisi played memorable roles in European and Hollywood films, receiving many awards including a career Golden Globe in 2004 and two David di Donatello Career Awards in 1996 and 2009, Xinhua reported.

Lisi won the Best Actress Award in 1994 at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance as the maleficent queen Caterina de' Medici in "La Reine Margot" by French director Patrice Cereau.

In 1965, the blue-eyed, blonde actress debuted in Hollywood, popping out of a wedding cake in 1965 comedy classic "How To Murder Your Wife" by American actor and film director Richard Quine.

In the late 1960s she broke her seven-year contract with Paramount and was back to Europe, where she struggled to find roles suitable to her.

Born in Ancona, a city in central Italy, Lisi had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer one month ago.