Shelley Winters (1920-2006) was an American actress known for her versatility and intense screen presence, with a film career spanning over five decades. She began to gain recognition in the 1940s and 1950s, often portraying vulnerable and tormented women, as in her acclaimed performance in *A Place in the Sun* (1951).

Winters won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress: the first for *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), in the poignant role of Petronella Van Daan, and the second for *A Patch of Blue* (1965). Other memorable roles include Charlotte Haze in Stanley Kubrick's *Lolita* (1962) and Belle Rosen in *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), for which she received a further nomination.

She specialized in embodying complex and often unconventional characters: victims, survivors, matronly figures, or sometimes unpleasant individuals, but always endowed with profound humanity and a straightforward acting style.