Greta Scacchi

Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi, January 2008
Born	Greta Scacchi (1960-02-18) 18 February 1960 (age 56) Milan, Italy
Nationality	Italy Australia
Occupation	Actress
Children	Leila Matteo

Greta Scacchi (Italian pronunciation: [ˌɡrɛːta ˈskakːi]; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress known for her roles in the films White Mischief, Presumed Innocent, The Player and Looking for Alibrandi. She won an Emmy Award in 1996 for her portrayal of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.

Scacchi was born in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela, an English dancer and antiques dealer. Scacchi's parents divorced when she was four, and her mother returned to her native England with Greta and her two older brothers, first to London, then to Haywards Heath, West Sussex. In 1975, after her mother's remarriage to Giovanni Carsaniga, an Italian academic, the family moved to Perth, Australia, where her stepfather was Visiting Professor of Italian at the University of Western Australia (UWA). While in Perth, Scacchi attended Hollywood Senior High School and joined UWA's University Dramatic Society, where she made her theatrical debut at the New Dolphin Theatre in Edward Bond's play Early Morning under director Arne Neeme.

In 1977, Scacchi returned to England to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where her contemporaries included Miranda Richardson and Amanda Redman. In 1982, she made her film debut in the German movie, Das Zweite Gesicht (The Second Face), and gave versatile performances in films, such as Heat and Dust (1983), The Ebony Tower (1984), The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), White Mischief (1987), Presumed Innocent (1990), The Player (1992) and Country Life (1994). She turned down the role of Catherine Trammell in Basic Instinct (1992).