Raffaella Carrà | |
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Born |
Raffaella Roberta Pelloni 18 June 1943 Bologna, Italy |
Other names | Raffaella Carrà, la Carrà |
Occupation | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1965–present |
Raffaella Carrà (Italian: [raffaˈɛlla karˈra]; born 18 June 1943 in Bologna), often simply known as la Carrà (the Carrà) and in some Latin American countries sometimes simply as Raffaella, is an Italian singer, dancer, television presenter, and actress. She is a popular figure in Europe and Latin America, both as a result of her many well-known taped presentations and records, and because of her many popular TV shows.
She was born Raffaella Roberta Pelloni, in Bologna, and took dance lessons there early on. When she was 8 years old, she left Bologna to study at the National Dance Academy (Accademia Nazionale di Danza) in Rome, and started her film career in the '50s, playing the character of Graziella in Tormento del passato (1952), where she appears credited with her real name.
Carrà debuted in cinema at age nine, in Tormento del passato (1952). She did five other movies until 1960 when she graduated from the national film school of Italy. Also in that year, she appeared in Long Night in 1943 (1960). In 1965, she moved to the United States signing with 20th Century Fox. As Carrà, she starred in the motion picture Von Ryan's Express (1965) with Frank Sinatra, Edward Mulhare, and Trevor Howard. In 1966, she guest starred in an episode of the American television series I Spy (Sophia, as the title character). Feeling homesick, she decided to return to Italy where she starred in about twenty Italian films such as Le Saint prend l'affût and the Our Man Flint parody Il vostro super agente Flit (1966) as well as a few television shows. However, subsequently her acting career has been scarce with no more than five works mainly for television.