Serena Faggioli (

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, 23 March 1958), known professionally as Serena Grandi, is an Italian actress, famous as 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 ...

Italian cinema The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by List of Italian film directors, Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and ...

of the 1980s and 1990s. She was a popular

pin-up model A pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures are intended for informal and aesth ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. During her film career, some films credited her as Vanessa Steiger, and she was notable in particular for two gory opuses, '' Antropophagus'' (1980) and ''

Delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

'' (1987).

Biography

Serena Grandi was born in

, Italy. She graduated in

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

and was first employed in a scientific analysis laboratory. She started her acting career in 1980, playing a supporting role in the comedy film ''La Compagna di viaggio'' by Ferdinando Baldi. In the same year, Grandi played the role of Maggie in the controversial film '' Antropophagus'', directed by

Joe D'Amato Aristide Massaccesi (15 December 1936 – 23 January 1999), known professionally as Joe D'Amato, was an Italian film director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter who worked in many genres (western (genre), westerns, ''Commedia sexy all' ...

. This film is well known among horror movie fans for its extreme gore sequences. After several minor roles, she took the title role in

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the Erot ...

' '' Miranda'', which gave her the status of sex symbol in her native

and set the path for her stardom. Through the 1980s, Grandi made nearly 20 films, mainly appearing in '' commedie sexy all'italiana'' and erotic films, but also starring in sword epics such as '' The Adventures of Hercules'' and in some horror films. In 1987

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Italy, Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his f ...

gave her the role of Gloria in his film ''

''. In 1991 she married the antiquarian Beppe Ercole, 20 years her senior, with whom she had a son Edoardo; the couple divorced in 1998. In the 1990s, Grandi started to back away from the spotlight; during this time she focused her career on television series. In 2003-2004 Grandi spent 157 days under house arrest, accused of having sold a few grams of cocaine. The case was later dismissed. In 2006, Grandi was a candidate in the list of

Social Action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes acc ...

, a right-wing party led by Alessandra Mussolini, but she was not elected. The same year she published her first novel, ''L’amante del federale''. In 2008, after a break of ten years, she returned to acting. In 2017 Grandi competed in '' Grande Fratello VIP'', the Italian adaptation of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

''.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grandi, Serena 1958 births Living people Actresses from Bologna Italian film actresses Italian television actresses Italian stage actresses Italian female models