'''Elissa Landi''' (geb. '''Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt''', * 6. Dezember 1904 in Venedig; † 21. Oktober 1948 in Kingston (New York)) war eine österreichisch-US-amerikanische Schauspielerin und Schriftstellerin.

== Leben ==

Geboren wurde Elissa Landi in Venedig als Tochter der Österreicher Richard Kühnelt, eines Offiziers, und Caroline Kühnelt geb. Kaiser, die sich als Tochter von Kaiserin Elisabeth ausgab<ref name=alex>http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=9734.msg268041</ref><ref name=naanoo>http://www.naanoo.com/freeboard/board/show_thread.php?userid=11812&topic=177428&forumid=64162</ref>. Sie hatte einen älteren Bruder namens Anthony Franz Kühnelt<ref name=elissa>http://elissa.org/landi.shtml</ref>. Die Familie lebte zunächst in Kleinhart, bis sich die Eltern schieden<ref name=elissa>http://elissa.org/landi.shtml</ref>. Später heiratete ihre Mutter einen Carlo Zanardi Landi<ref name=alex>*</ref><ref name=elissa>http://elissa.org/landi.shtml</ref>. 

In den Zwanzigerjahren hatte sie Rollen in britischen, französischen und deutschen Filmen, ab 1931 in den USA. Ab 1943 zog sie sich aus dem Filmgeschäft zurück und wandte sich dem Schreiben zu. Am 2. Oktober 1944 kam ihre Tochter mit dem Autor Curtis Kinney Thomas, Carolyn Maude Thomas, in Manhattan zur Welt, was dem ''Time magazine'' eine Notiz wert war<ref name=time>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,933133,00.html?promoid=googlep</ref>. 1948 verstarb sie an Krebs.

Im Hollywood Walk of Fame hat sie einen Stern an der Adresse ''1611 Vine Street''<ref>http://www.hollywooda-z.com/stars/hollywood_l.htm</ref><ref>http://www.hollywoodusa.co.uk/walkoffamestarlocations.htm</ref><ref>http://www.favefolks.com/Hollywood/hollywood-walk-of-fame-L.asp</ref><ref>http://www.1728.com/conv.htm</ref>.

{{Infobox actor
| bgcolour = silver
| name = Elissa Landi
| image = Elissa Landi in After the Thin Man trailer.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = from the ''After the Thin Man'' film trailer, 1936.
| birthdate = 
| location = Venice, Italy
| deathdate = 
| deathplace = Kingston, New York, United States
| birthname = Elizabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt 
}}
'''Elissa Landi'''  (Italian born actress who was popular in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. Rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, she was noted for her aristocratic bearing. 

Born '''Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt ''' in educated in England.  

Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty.  She would return to writing during lulls in her acting career. 

During the 1920s she appeared in British, French, and German films before travelling to the Broadway production of ''A Farewell to Arms''. She was signed to a contact by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox) in 1931.

She played the heroine in The Sign of the Cross'' (1932), but was overshadowed by Body and Soul'' (1931) before appearing in the box office hit ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1934) with Robert Donat.   

Her contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas she played the cousin of Myrna Loy in the very popular ''After the Thin Man'' (1936). After only two more films she retired, in 1943.

She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems.  