Eleonora Giorgi (21 October 1953 – 3 March 2025) was an Italian actress, screenwriter, and film director. She gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, starring in a variety of Italian films, particularly in the comedy and drama genres. Giorgi first gained attention with her roles in erotic and giallo films before transitioning to mainstream cinema, where she became a popular figure in Italian comedy, working with directors such as Pasquale Festa Campanile and Carlo Verdone.
In 1982, she won the David di Donatello Award for Best Actress for her performance in Borotalco, one of her most acclaimed roles. Beyond acting, Giorgi has also worked as a screenwriter and director, making her directorial debut in 2003.
Early life and career
Giorgi was born in Rome, Italy on 21 October 1953. Her father was of Italian and English origin. Her mother was of Italian and Hungarian origin.
She made her film debut in a minor role in Paolo Cavara's horror film Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) and subsequently appeared in nearly fifty films, mostly in prominent roles. She first starred in Domenico Paolella's Story of a Cloistered Nun (1973), an important nunsploitation, at age eighteen. She then took part in The Kiss, a fantasy drama directed by Mario Lanfranchi, and in erotic comedies such as Salvatore Samperi's La sbandata (1974), in which she plays near Domenico Modugno and Luciana Paluzzi, Luciano Salce's Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno (1974), Pasquale Festa Campanile's The Sex Machine (U.S. title: Love and Energy) (1975) and Gianluigi Calderone's Appassionata, that definitively gained her the public acclaim.
Roles in films like Franco Brusati's To Forget Venice (1979), Dario Argento's Inferno (1980), Nino Manfredi's Portrait of a Woman, Nude (1981), and Liliana Cavani's Beyond the Door (1982) are some of her most known and remarkable dramatic performances but in the beginning of the eighties, Giorgi decided to rejoin comedy. She's near Adriano Celentano in Velvet Hands and Grand Hotel Excelsior; for her performance in Carlo Verdone's Talcum Powder (1982), she won the Nastro d'Argento award and David di Donatello award for Best Actress.
In 2003, Giorgi wrote and directed her first film Uomini & donne, amori & bugie (U.S. title: Love, Lies, Kids... & Dogs), with Ornella Muti.
Personal life and death In 1974 Giorgi lost her boyfriend, fellow actor Alessandro Momo, to a motorcycle accident.
Giorgi was married from 1979 to 1983 to film producer and publisher Angelo Rizzoli, with whom she had a son, Andrea (born 1980). In 1991 she had another son, Paolo, by actor Massimo Ciavarro, to whom she was married from 1993 to 1996.
She was in a relationship with writer Andrea De Carlo between 1996 and 2007.
After suffering from pancreatic cancer from late 2023, Giorgi died in Rome on 3 March 2025, at the age of 71.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes1971Black Belly of the TarantulaBeauty Center MaidUncredited1972RomaMotorbike RiderUncredited1973The Three Musketeers of the WestDart's loverCameoStory of a Cloistered NunCarmela SimoniNumber OneGirlUncredited1974AppassionataNicolaThe KissElena VerganiAlla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleannoAngelaLa sbandataMariuccia1975The Sex MachinePiera1976Dog's HeartZinaYoung, Violent, DangerousLeaAnd Agnes Chose to DieVandinaBorn WinnerMarzia1977Ready for AnythingAnnaA Spiral of MistLidia1978Ça fait tiltSylviaSuggestionataAnna LoriSafari RallyLucille DavisNon sparate sui bambiniIlda1979To Forget VeniceClaudiaA Man on His KneesLucia PeraltaVelvet HandsTilli1980InfernoSaraMia moglie è una stregaFinnicella1981Portrait of a Woman, NudeLaura/Rirì1982Talcum PowderNadia VandelliBeyond the DoorNinaGrand Hotel ExcelsiorIlde Vivaldi1983Mani di fataFranca FerriniSapore di mare 2Tea Guerrazzi1984Vediamoci chiaroEleonora Bauer1986Giovanni SenzapensieriClaire1988Il volponeFrancesca CorvinoCompagni di scuolaValeria Donati1996Mamma, mi si è depresso papàMaria2003 Uomini & donne, amori & bugierowspan=2 Director and screenwriter 2006Agente matrimonialeProducer2007SoloMetroElvira Alvari2009L'ultima estateDirector and screenwriter 2012Carlo!HerselfDocumentary2016My Father JackAda PontecorvoAttesa e cambiamentiCaterinaThe Paolella ConnectionHerselfShort film2017La mia famiglia a soqquadroGrandma FioreFinal film role
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1977CastigoHermioneTelevision film1983Un disco per l'estateHerself / HostAnnual music festival1984Notti e nebbieMagdaTelevision film1985YesterdaySusy ArmaniTelevision film1986Atto d'amoreLenaTelevision film1987Lo scialoNella VianiTelevision film1988Festa di CapodannoBarbara MaggesiTelevision film1996Death of a WitchPina AcciaiTelevision filmUno di noiFrancescaEpisode: "I due amori"Andata e ritornoAttorney MartinezTelevision film2002–2006Lo zio d'AmericaBeatrice RicciardiMain role2007Provaci ancora prof!Dora CantinoEpisode: "L'amica americana"2016Don MatteoAmelie RosarioEpisode: "La diva"
Discography Singles "Quale appuntamento/Messaggio Personale" – Dischi Ricordi (1981)
References
External links