About Maria Teresa de Filippis
Maria Teresa de Filippis (11 November 1926 – 9 January 2016) was an Italian racing driver, and the first woman to race in Formula One. She participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1958, but scored no championship points. Though her Formula One racing career was brief, she won races in other series and is remembered as a pioneer in the sport. == Biography == De Filippis was born on 11 November 1926 in Marigliano, Italy. She was the youngest of five children of an Italian count, Serino Francesco De Filippis, and a Spanish noblewoman, Narcisa Anselmi Balaguer Roca de Togores y Ruco y Perpignan. De Filippis' father owned the 16th-century Palazzo Marigliano in Naples, where she grew up. She started displaying an interest in sport since her teenage years, being a keen horse rider and tennis player. === Early career === In the late 1940s, at the end of World War II, de Filippis developed an interest in motorsport. Despite some reservations from her intimate circle of friends and relatives (two of her brothers told her that she would not be able to go very fast, goading her and making a bet that she would be slow), at the age of 22, de Filippis began her racing career. She won her first race, driving a Fiat 500 on a 10 km drive between Salerno and Cava de' Tirreni.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.