Maria Francesia Anna Venuti (born 7 March 1941) is an Australian actress, entertainer and author, who has appeared in numerous stage, television shows and film productions, over 50 years. Venuti is a singer, as well as an accomplished pianist who is noted for her work in cabaret and supper clubs, including working throughout Asia.

Biography

Venuti's father was from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, and came to Australia in 1926 and her mother, Bella who was 18 years younger than her father, was from

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and came to Sydney in 1939. She has a daughter named Bianca by her previous husband, Tony; they are now divorced. She has a half sister, Gina and had a half brother Francesco, who died of

Diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

. Venuti has written a memoir, called ''A Whole Lot of Front''. Her early life was unsettled and when she was in kindergarten, she moved schools four times because of bullying due to her descent.

Stalking and intruder incident

In November 2016, Venuti was hospitalized after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, and was subsequently placed in a coma after the stress of an intruder entering her home in

Gladesville, New South Wales Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government ...

. The police had been called three times previously, after the 38-year-old man was seen lingering outside her home and stalking Venuti, turning up with flowers and alleging he was married to her. The man was taken under escort to the

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...

, for a mental evaluation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Bibliography

*''Whole Load of Front'' (2011)

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Venuti, Maria 1941 births Living people Australian people of Egyptian descent Australian people of Italian descent Australian television actresses Australian film actresses Australian women singers Members of the Order of Australia