Award-winning film star Virna Lisi dead

(ANSA) - Rome, December 18 - Italian film star Virna Lisi died Thursday at age 78, sources said. Lisi won numerous awards, including at Cannes film festival, and was twice given the David di Donatello award for her work. Born in Ancona, Lisi appeared in both Italian and Hollywood films, as producers in the United States considered the blue-eyed, blonde Lisi to be similar to famed Marilyn Monroe, according to biographers.