Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), known professionally as Raffaella Carrà (Italian: [raffaˈɛlla karˈra]) and sometimes mononymously as Raffaella, was an Italian singer, dancer, actress, television presenter and model. Widely considered a pop culture icon in Europe and Latin America, between the 1970s and 1980s she became a pioneer of feminism in the music and television industries, as well as a music icon, an LGBT icon and an icon of fashion and design.
Carrà released 25 studio albums in 37 countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America, selling over 60 million records worldwide, including "A far l'amore comincia tu", "Fiesta", "Forte forte forte", "Pedro", "Tanti auguri" and "Tuca tuca", singing in Italian, Spanish, English and French.
After an acting debut in Italy, Carrà signed a deal with 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, also starring in French and Spanish films, working with Mario Monicelli, Marcello Mastroianni, Frank Sinatra, Edward Mulhare, Trevor Howard, Jean Marais and James Coburn. She then became a successful TV host and personality in Italy, Spain and Argentina, receiving several awards including 12 Telegatto and two TP de Oro.
In 2021, Carrà was posthumously honored with the Sorriso Diverso Venezia Award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival for her contributions to Italian music and show business.
Raffaella Pelloni was born on 18 June 1943 in Bologna to Raffaele Pelloni (1912–1996) and Angela Iris Dell'Utri (of Sicilian ancestry; 1923–1987), and had a younger brother named Vincenzo "Enzo" (1945–2001). Her parents, however, separated shortly after the wedding and Pelloni spent most of her childhood between her mother's bar and the ice cream shop in Bellaria – Igea Marina. At the latter establishment, she grew up watching the television programme Il Musichiere, learning by heart titles, ballets, and refrains of the songs.
When she was only eight years old, she left the Romagna coast to continue her studies directly in Rome at the National Academy of Dance. At the age of 14 she dropped out of ballet classes. In 1952 she began her studies at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia until she graduated in 1960.
1950s and 1960s: youth, early career and Hollywood
At the age of 9, while walking with her mother in Rome and through a family friend, Pelloni met the director Mario Bonnard who cast her in his film Torment of the Past, in which she played the character of Graziella.
Pelloni made her debut as a recognized actress in 1960 in the film Long Night in 1943. That same year she worked in the French film La chance et l'amour with Michel Piccoli. She then appeared in many Italian peplum films, including Fury of the Pagans (1960), Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops (1961), Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961), Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules (1962), Pontius Pilate (1962) and Caesar the Conqueror (1962), as well as comedies and action films such as 5 marines per 100 ragazze (1961), The Terrorist (1963), The Organizer (1963), and La Celestina P... R... (1965).
In the mid-1960s, director Dante Guardamagna gave Pelloni the pseudonym Carrà; fond of painting, he combined her real name, Raffaella, which reminded him of Raphael, with the surname of Carlo Carrà.
In 1965, Carrà moved to Hollywood after signing a contract with 20th Century Fox and following in the footsteps of her fellow artists Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren and Virna Lisi, Carrà appeared in the film Von Ryan's Express alongside Frank Sinatra, Edward Mulhare and Trevor Howard. In 1966, she guest starred in an episode of the American television series I Spy with Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. Feeling homesick and not liking life in Los Angeles, she decided to return to Italy that same year where she starred in several Italian and French films such as The Saint Lies in Wait (1966), the Our Man Flint parody Il vostro super agente Flit (1966), Why Did I Ever Say Yes Twice? (1969), and Cran d'arrêt (1970), as well as a few television shows.
On 3 March 1967, Carrà was broadcast on the National Programme Tutto per bene, a TV adaptation of the novel of the same name by Luigi Pirandello.
In January 1968, she presented a special broadcast on the second national network, entitled Tempo di samba. In June of the same year, she participated in the play Processo di Famiglia, by Diego Fabbri and, at the end of the following year, she starred in Il sorriso della gioconda.
In 1970 Carrà participated as a guest actress in the programme Io, Agata e tu together with Nino Ferrer. Shortly after, Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) hired her to present Canzonissima 70, a Saturday night show in which she was also an actress and dancer. She also presented Canzonissima 71 and Canzonissima 74 in which she released her hit single "Ma che musica Maestro" which sold 200,000 - 250,000 copies in Italy. In 1971, she participated alongside Georges Descrières in the French-produced television series Arsenio Lupin, starring in the episode entitled La donna dai due sorrisi.
In 1974 she hosted on Rai Milleluci together with singer Mina Mazzini.
After her success on the Italian market, in 1975 Carrà made her first appearance in Spain on Televisión Española (TVE) when she performed in the variety show ¡Señoras y señores!; she subsequently released a compilation album with Spanish versions of her songs. In 1976, TVE hired her to host four episodes of the variety show La hora de....
During these years Carrà concentrated more on her singing career, achieving success in countries including Spain, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, the UK, Greece, and in particular Latin American countries. One of her most resounding successes was the song A far l'amore comincia tu, the English version of which reached ninth place in the UK Singles Chart, besides obtaining several gold and platinum records worldwide.
In 1976 Carrà recorded the album Forte forte forte, which was released in 36 countries around the world, earning her a Gold certification in Canada. The album was followed up in 1977 with Fiesta, which features Eurodisco songs; the title track has been described as "symbol" of the soubrette.