Biography

Lydia Simoneschi began working in the Italian cinema in the thirties in little parts, typically the waitress in some films. She didn't have the "phisique du role" to become a leading lady but her voice was wonderful. So, the dubbing became the right world for her. In the thirties and forties Lydia became one of the "Queens of dubbing" in Italy, the best of all her colleagues. Practically every famous actress, especially american, gets her voice at least one time in her career. Lydia becomes the abitual voice for Ingrid Bergman (Notorious, For whom the bell tolls, Spellbound), Bette Davis (All about Eve, Pocketful of miracles), Lauren Bacall (How to marry a millionaire, Written on the wind), Joan Crawford (Autumn Leaves, Whatever happened to Baby Jane), Susan Hayward (Backstreet, David and Batsheba), Jennifer Jones (Duel in the sun, Portrait of Jennie) and sometimes, when the actress gives an outstanding performance she is chosen to make her speak Italian (It's the case of Hedy Lamarr in "Samson and Delilah", Doris Day in "The man who knew too much" and June Duprez in "The thief of Bagdad"). Her career lasted for all the '70s when she continued dubbing character actresses and had the leading dubbing role in the Disney Classic "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (Angela Lansbury). She has been indubitably the most glamorous and versatile voice of the Italian dubbing, capable of matching with the most different acting styles with a virtuosity that is a real miracle.
- IMDb mini biography by: Nunziante Valoroso -nunval@libero.it

Lydia Simoneschi is undoubtedly the most famous and most versatile voice dubber in the history of Italian cinema. She was the most prolific and hard-working actress in this field; her crystalline and warm voice could match any actress on screen in any film genre, comedy or drama. She dubbed all Hollywood ladies from the Thirties through to the Sixties (from the Sixties onwards, she specialised in dubbing character actresses), as well as Italian actresses in American films (Sophia Loren, Alida Valli or Valentina Cortese) or even foreign actresses in French films: Simone Signoret in Casque d'Or (1952): German films: Carola Höhn in _Drei tolle Mädels (1943)_ or even Swedish picture: Inga Landgré in The Seventh Seal (1957). She also lent her voice to foreign actresses in Italian films like the Anita Ekberg, María Mercader, Yvonne Sanson, Lída Baarová, or Viviane Romance. According to the Italian tradition to post-synchronise dialogues of Italian films, Simoneschi also dubbed Italian actresses (Silvana Mangano or Silvana Pampanini in Italian films (see "Miscellaneous Crew" section). Her voice was also used to narrate films, like To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Any Italian movie-goer is able to recognise Lidia's voice, even today!
- IMDb mini biography by: Christophe Greseque (chrisgreseque@hotmail.com)

Italian dubber in 1950 for Vivien Leigh/Scarlett in "Gone with the wind". When MGM decided to redub with modern voices the film for the 1977 reissue, the Italian public refused the modern dubbing and, for the first television broadcast in Italy of the film in 1983, the classic original dubbing with Lydia was used once again by general request.

Daughter of actor-director Carlo Simoneschi.