Celebrity Biographies
Rafaella Carra
Pizpireta, dynamic and cheerful, was an icon of the show, especially in Italy, and much loved in Spain, where she achieved great success with her television programs. Rafaella Carrà died on July 5, 2021, at the age of 78, in Rome, according to Sergio Japino, director and choreographer, sentimental partner of her deceased. She “She has gone to a better world, where her humanity, her unmistakable laugh and her extraordinary talent will shine forever.”
Born in Bologna on June 18, 1943, Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni began her professional career at the age of nine, after being chosen for a small role in the film Tormento del passato. At the age of 15, Ella raffaella Carrà enrolled at the Institute of Cinematography at the age of fifteen, training as a dancer. In 1960 she participated in the 1943 film La lunga notte and in 1963 she participated in I compagni. She made her French film debut with La chance et l’amour, opposite Michel Piccoli .
Raffaella Carrà moved to Hollywood in 1965, having signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. She appeared with Frank Sinatra in Colonel Von Ryan , and participated in a chapter of the series I Spy , starring Bill Cosby . However, she did not get used to life in Los Angeles, so she returned to Europe. In France, she signed a contract to participate in the French program Agata e tu, which was presented by Nino Ferrer, on the condition that she had three minutes of her own from the broadcast to do whatever she wanted. With this space, she became a celebrity in the Gallic country. In Italy, RAI put Raffaella Carrà In front of Canzonissima 70, where he achieved millionaire audiences on Saturday nights, he caused a certain scandal for being the first to show the navel on television, and became the Bride of Italy. Shortly after he released his successful single “Ma che musica Maestro”. In 1975, he appeared on the Spanish television program ¡Señoras y señores!, acquiring great notoriety. The singer released a compilation album with versions sung in Spanish, such as “Rumore”, “Fiesta”, “In love everything is to start”, “Mamá give me 100 pesetas”. Due to her success in Spain, TVE executives offered her to do the special La hora de Raffaella Carrà, and already in the 90s she popularized Hola, Rafaella. She did not miss Latin America, because in 1978 she triumphed in the Chilean program Sábado gigante,
Raffaella Carrà had no children. She maintained relationships with the Juventus footballer Gino Stacchini, with the singer Little Tony, and the television author Gianni Boncompagni, author of his greatest musical hits. Finally, she was paired with the aforementioned Sergio Japino.
In the 90s, Raffaella Carrà achieved another great television success with “Carramba! What a surprise”, a program invented together with Sergio Japino, with the direct participation of guests. In the last years of her activity, she was in charge of the ‘Amore’ program, with which she managed to get 150,000 children adopted.
In 2020, Nacho Álvarez directed the Spanish film Explota, Explota , starring Ingrid García Jonsson and Verónica Echegui , with musical numbers with songs by Raffaella Carrà .