Gianna Lou Cassini ( Müller; January 2, 1949 – March 18, 2025), better known by her stage name Nadia Cassini, was an American-Italian actress, singer, and

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

who became famous in Italian

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

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'' ("low-cut comedy") or ''commedia erotica all'italiana'', is a subgenre of the Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style '' ...

'' genre in the 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 Müller (née Noto) (who were professional dancers and actors), during a tour in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

. 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 private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

. She had affairs with many wealthy men including

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

. She moved to Italy in 1968.

Film career and after

Cassini obtained her first film roles by 1970, appearing in '' The Divorce'' (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 Republic ...

's ''

Il dio serpente ''Il dio serpente'' () 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) themed sexploi ...

'' the same year. Subsequently, she had roles in films such as ''

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

'' (1972), '' Ecco lingua d'argento'' (''Emmanuelle's Silver Tongue'') (1976) and ''

Starcrash ''Starcrash'' () is a 1978 space opera film directed and co-written by Luigi Cozzi, and starring Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, David Hasselhoff, Joe Spinell and Christopher Plummer. Widely regarded as a "cash-in" on the unprecedented succe ...

'' (1978) before reaching a great success in the ''

'' genre, particularly in a series of films starring

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

between 1979 and 1980, namely '' L'insegnante balla... con tutta la classe'' (1979), '' The Nurse in the Military Madhouse'' (1979), and '' La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello'' (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'' on the CDG record label. In 1982, she released her most famous single "When (I'm Falling in Love) / A chi la do stasera". 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 protec ...

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

Personal life and death

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 one of the journalists to write the '' Cholly Knickerbocker'' column. Career He was ...

(1915–2002), an American journalist of Russian and Italian nobility, in 1969. She divorced Cassini in 1972 and moved to London with her boyfriend, Greek actor

Yorgo Voyagis Yorgo Voyagis ( ; 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 the Italian Western ''Killer Kid''. Voyagis then starre ...

. Their daughter, Kassandra, was born in 1977 and Cassini returned to film one year later in 1978. Nadia Cassini died following a long illness in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

, Italy, on March 18, 2025, at the age of 76.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassini, Nadia 1949 births 2025 deaths 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 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers