Emanuela Fanelli (born 6 July 1986) is an Italian actress and comedian. Known for her work on sketch comedy television for over ten years, she reached worldwide acting recognition after starring in the critically acclaimed films Dry (2022) and There's Still Tomorrow (2023), receiving two consecutive David di Donatello awards for Best Supporting Actress.
Biography Emanuela Fanelli began her acting career on stage when she was a teenager. She worked in theatre for many years studying under Luigi Onorato, Giorgio Amato, and David Fiandanese. She made her cinema debut in 2015 with Don't Be Bad by Claudio Caligari, which was followed by other films: The Last Will Be the Last and Ignorance Is Bliss by Massimiliano Bruno, Solo by Laura Morante, La casa di famiglia by Augusto Fornari and A mano disarmata by Claudio Bonivento. In 2016 she starred in the role of Cinzia, the female protagonist of the TV series Dov'è Mario?, produced by Wildside for Sky Uno, alongside Corrado Guzzanti. She won a series of awards, including the special mention for best actress and best monologue at the "Ciak, si Roma!" event of the Rome International Film Festival, from a jury including Carlo Verdone, Daniele Luchetti and Lina Wertmüller.
In 2014, she won the award for Best Actress at the 48 Hour Film Project for her role in the short film Un film d'amore. Since 2016, she has appeared on radio alongside Lillo & Greg on the programme 610 on Rai Radio 2 in which she plays various characters. In 2019 she was one of the protagonists of the TV programme Battute? on Rai 2 and she featured in the music video for "Immigrato", a song by Checco Zalone published to promote the release of his film Tolo Tolo in cinemas.
Since 2020 she has taken part in the programme Una pezza di Lundini, with Valerio Lundini, broadcast from 7 September 2020 on Rai 2. In 2021, she participated in the Sanremo Music Festival and joined Lo Stato Sociale and Francesco Pannofino in a cover of "Non è per sempre" by Afterhours. She also served as patroness of the awards ceremony at the 2021 Torino Film Festival. She was later chosen as host for 60 sul 2, a programme celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of Rai 2.
In 2022, she starred in Paolo Virzì's Dry, which earned her the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress. In 2023, she portrayed Marisa in Paola Cortellesi's directorial debut There's Still Tomorrow, which became one of the highest-grossing films of all time in Italy.
In 2024, she was again directed by Virzì in the film Another Summer Holiday. That same year, she again won Best Supporting Actress at the 69th David di Donatello for her performance in There's Still Tomorrow.
Filmography Film YearTitleRole(s) Notes 2014Un film d'amore Cicova Short film2015Don't Be Bad Sloppy Girl #1 Cameo appearanceThe Last Will Be the Last Nadia2017Ignorance Is Bliss IrisCose dell'altro mondo Mother Short filmThe Family House Ornella 2019A mano disarmata Chiara Colombo 2022Dry Raffaella Zarate 2023There's Still Tomorrow Marisa 2024Another Summer Holiday Daniela 2025Madly Trilli 2026 Post-production
Television YearTitleRole(s) Notes 2016Dov'è Mario? Cinzia 3 episodes 2018La TV delle ragazze – Gli Stati Generali 1988-2018 Herself / Various Cast member 2019Battute? Herself / Various Main role 2020–2022Una pezza di Lundini Herself / Co-host / Various Sketch comedy series; 70 episodes 2023Sono Lillo Herself Season 1, episode 3 2023–presentCall My Agent - Italia Luana Pericoli Recurring role; 10 episodes 2024No Activity Palmira Piccoli Main role2026My 2 Cents Smeralda (voice) Episode: "Come comete" Herself (fictional version) Lead role; also creator and writer
Music videos YearTitleArtist(s) Notes 2019"Immigrato" Checco Zalone 2023"Tutta" Daniele Silvestri
Accolades YearAwardCategory Nominated workResult 201448 Hour Film Project Best Actress Un film d'amore 2021Satira Award TV Character of the Year Una pezza di Lundini 2023David di Donatello Best Supporting Actress Dry Nastro d'Argento Best Actress in a TV Series or Miniseries Call My Agent - Italia 2024David di Donatello Best Supporting Actress There's Still Tomorrow
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