Manuela Arcuri (born 8 January 1977) is an Italian actress and model. She's best known for starring in

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a ...

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

series '' Il peccato e la vergogna'' (2008–2014).

Biography

Arcuri was born in

Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic centre of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appearance of a s ...

, near

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

, to a father from the

Province of Crotone The province of Crotone () is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was formed in 1992 out of a section of the province of Catanzaro. The provincial capital is the city of Crotone. It borders the provinces of Cosenza, Catanzaro, and als ...

and a mother from

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

. Raised in

Latina, Lazio Latina () is the capital of the province of Latina, in the Lazio region, in Central Italy. As of 2024, the city has 127,486 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital Rome.It is one of the youngest citi ...

from an early age, Manuela Arcuri, was often on the covers of tabloids. She has a black belt in karate. She was an attendee at former prime minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

's private parties.Berlusconi's 'harem' named
, ''L'Unità'', 16 September 2011

TV career

At a very early age she was attracted to

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, and she became a fashion model; in 1995 she played parts in

soap operas A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas original ...

and in her first film, ''

Black Holes A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

'' directed by

Pappi Corsicato Pappi Corsicato (born 12 June 1960) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * '' Libera'' (1993) * ''Black Holes A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anyth ...

; then she had a supporting role in '' The Graduates'' directed by

Leonardo Pieraccioni Leonardo Pieraccioni (born 17 February 1965) is an Italian film director, actor, comedian, screenwriter and cabaret performer. Born in Florence, he made his directorial debut with '' The Graduates'' (1995). In 1996 he directed his breakthrough ...

, and a major one in the comedy film ''

Bagnomaria ''Bagnomaria'' is a 1999 Italian comedy film directed by Giorgio Panariello. Cast *Giorgio Panariello as Mario, PR, Merigo and Simone *Gianna Giachetti as Bice *Manuela Arcuri as Mara *Andrea Cambi as Rodolfo * Ugo Pagliai as mayor Valdemaro *Kat ...

'' by

Giorgio Panariello Giorgio Panariello (born 30 September 1960 in Florence) is an Italian comedian, film and stage actor, director and television presenter. Biography Born in Florence to a father of Campanian origin, he raised in Cinquale, a seaside town in the pro ...

, which brought her to the attention of the moviegoing public. She continued acting in other movies and stage productions, such as ''A Pretty Story of a Woman'' e ''Liolà'' at the side of Gianfranco Jannuzzo and under the direction of

Gigi Proietti Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (2 November 1940 – 2 November 2020) was an Italian actor, dubber, comedian, singer and television presenter. Early life He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, originally from Umbria, and Giovanna Ceci, a housewife. Dur ...

. In 2000 Manuela Arcuri, now considered a

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...

, appeared in a calendar for the magazine ''GenteViaggi''; the following year, she posed for another calendar, this time for the magazine ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'', obtaining great success that consolidated her reputation and helped her land a role in the TV series ''

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

''. In 2001 she hosted the TV show ''

Mai dire Gol ''Mai dire Gol'' was an Italian football television program of featuring Gialappa's Band, which was broadcast on Italia 1 from 18 November 1990 to 25 February 2001. The program was, at the beginning, the footballing version of Gialappa's Band's ...

'' with

Gialappa's Band Gialappa's Band is the collective name used by Marco Santin (born 11 February 1962 in Milan), Carlo Taranto (born 16 December 1961 in Milan), and Giorgio Gherarducci (born 1 November 1963 in Milan), an Italian trio of TV and radio commentator ...

. In 2002, she co-hosted the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

alongside

Pippo Baudo Giuseppe Vittorio Raimondo "Pippo" Baudo (born 7 June 1936) is one of the most famous Italian television presenters, with a career spanning six decades. He is often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of Super Goof). Baudo ha ...

and

Vittoria Belvedere Vittoria Belvedere (born 17 January 1972) is an Italian actress. She has appeared in several films but most of her work is television based. Career In 1992, she made her debut in the film ''In camera mia'', directed by Luciano Martino. In 1993, ...

. In 2003, she co-hosted with

Teo Teocoli Antonio "Teo" Teocoli (born 25 February 1945) is an Italian actor, comedian, cabaret performer, showman, TV conductor, singer and writer appearing in about 30 mostly Italian productions since 1975. Selected filmography * ''Paolo e Francesc ...

and Anna Maria Barbera the eighth series of the TV comedy show ''

Scherzi a parte ''Scherzi a parte'' is a hidden camera-practical joke television series aired in prime time from 9 February 1992, first on Italia 1 and then on Canale 5.Aldo Grasso – Massimo Scaglioni, ''Enciclopedia della Televisione'', Garzanti, Milano, 19 ...

''.

Theatre

*''

Liolà ''Liolà'' () is an Italian stage play written by Luigi Pirandello in 1916, which takes place in 19th century Sicily. The original text was composed in the Sicilian dialect of Agrigento. The title character is a middle-aged single father by ch ...

'' (2006) *'' Il primo che mi capita'' (2008) *''

A Pretty Story of Woman A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (2010)

Filmography

Television

Music Video

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcuri, Manuela 1977 births Living people Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni Italian actresses Italian female models People from Latina, Lazio Actresses from Lazio People of Calabrian descent