Gianna Lou Cassini ( Müller; born January 2, 1949), better known with her stage name Nadia Cassini, is a retired American actress, singer and

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

who became famous in Italian

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s of the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the ''

commedia sexy all'italiana The commedia sexy all'italiana (, lit. "sex comedy Italian style"), also known as commedia scollacciata or commedia erotica all'italiana, is a subgenre of Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style ''Commedia sexy'' is characterized typ ...

'' genre in late 1970s.

Early life and career

Cassini was born on January 2, 1949, to German American Harrison Müller Sr. (1929–1998) and his Italian American wife, Patricia (who were professional dancers and actors), during a tour in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

. She left her family at an early age and traveled abroad, working as a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

. She had affairs with many wealthy men including

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

. She moved to Italy in 1968.

Film career and after

Cassini obtained her first film roles by 1970, appearing in ''

The Divorce The Divorce was a rock band from Seattle, Washington, originally composed of Shane Berry, lead vocals, keyboard, guitar and tambourine, (bass) and Kyle Risan, drums. History The band's first full-length release was ''There Will Be Blood Tonig ...

'' (1970) and playing her first lead role in

Piero Vivarelli Piero Vivarelli (26 February 1927 – 7 September 2010) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and lyricist. Vivarelli was born in Siena. After his father's death in 1942 at the hands of Yugoslav Partisans, Vivarelli joined the Republ ...

's ''

Il dio serpente ''Il dio serpente'' (The snake god) is a 1970 Italian erotic fantasy film directed by Piero Vivarelli and featuring Italian-based American actress Nadia Cassini in her first lead role. The film is an earlier example of voodoo (and later zombie) the ...

'' the same year. She had roles in films such as ''

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

'' (1972) and '' Starcrash'' (1978) before reaching a great success in the

genre (a series of films starring

Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian film actor and presenter. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1960. Biography He was born in the Apulian city of Andria and at the age of three, moved to Canosa di Puglia. Li ...

between 1979 and 1980), namely '' L'insegnante balla... con tutta la classe'' (1979), '' L'infermiera nella corsia dei militari'' (1979) and ''

La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello ''La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello'' (The doctor is there with Colonel) is a 1980 commedia sexy all'italiana directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini, starring Lino Banfi with Nadia Cassini. The film is a late installment of the genre, combining ...

'' (1980). StarCrash

In the 1980s, after appearing as a showgirl in some successful TV shows such as '' Drive In'' and ''Premiatissima'', her face was partially disfigured and her right ear lost in a botched plastic surgery procedure. After retiring from the Italian scene, Cassini worked for French television and later returned to the United States. In 1978, she released her first album ''Encounters of a Loving Kid'' with CDG. In 1982, she released her most famous single "When (I'm Falling in Love) / A chi la do stasera" with

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

In 1983, she released her second album ''Get Ready'' with

RCA Italiana RCA Italiana was an Italian record company founded in 1949 and active until 1987, the date on which, together with the parent company RCA Records, it was bought by BMG Entertainment. History Founded in Rome in 1949 under the Vatican's protecti ...

, which was her most famous album. In 1985, she released her third and final album ''Dreams'' with Five Record.

Personal life

Cassini married

Igor Cassini Count Igor Cassini Loiewski (September 15, 1915 – January 5, 2002) was a Russian-American syndicated gossip columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain. He was the second journalist to write the ''Cholly Knickerbocker'' column. Career He was b ...

, an American journalist of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Italian nobility The nobility of Italy (Italian: ''Nobiltà italiana'') comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the k ...

, in 1969. She divorced Cassini in 1972 and moved to London with her boyfriend, Greek actor

Yorgo Voyagis Yorgo Voyagis ( el, Γιώργος Βογιατζής, Giorgos Vogiadzis ; born 6 December 1945) is a Greek actor. Career as an actor Voyagis' film debut was in Michael Cacoyannis's ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964). He reappeared three years later in ...

. Their daughter, Kassandra, was born in 1977 and Cassini returned to cinema one year later in 1978.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassini, Nadia 1949 births Living people American expatriates in Italy American people of Italian descent American people of German descent People from Woodstock, New York Actresses from New York (state) American film actresses 21st-century American women