Edwige Fenech
| Edwige Fenech | |
|---|---|
 Fenech in Tutti i colori del buio (1972) | |
| Born |
Edwige Sfenek 24 December 1948 Bône, French Algeria (now Annaba, Algeria) |
| Occupation | Actress, Producer |
| Years active | 1968 - Present |
| Spouse(s) | Luciano Martino (1971-1979) (1 son) |
Edwige Fenech, born Edwige Sfenek (24 December 1948) is a French-born Italian actress and film producer.[1] She is mostly known as the star of a series of Italian erotic comedy and giallo films released in the 1970s, which turned her into a sex symbol.
Cinema career
Fenech moved from Nice to Rome in 1967 for her first Italian film Samoa, regina della giungla by Guido Malatesta.[2][3] In 1968, she came under contract with Austrian director Franz Antel and from the late 1960s to early 1970s, she acted in various films of Antel (including his acclaimed Frau Wirtin series) as well as Franz Marischka's.
Fenech starred in many genres of cinema[4] but her greatest commercial success came with commedia sexy all'italiana films, particularly including earlier works Ubalda, All Naked and Warm and Giovannona Long-Thigh, as well as the following l'insegnante (school teacher), la soldatessa (soldier), la poliziotta (policewoman) series and other films that featured Fenech in stereotypical professions, which further bolstered Fenech's position as the most popular actress of the genre. She often paired with Carlo Giuffrè and later with Renzo Montagnani in commedia sexy films.
Fenech was also a regular in giallo films.[5] Her works in this genre include Five Dolls for an August Moon, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, All the Colors of the Dark, The Case of the Bloody Iris, and Strip Nude for Your Killer.
Later career
In the 1980s, she became a television personality, typically appearing with Barbara Bouchet on a chat show on Italian television.
After many years of work in movie production, she produced, among others, The Merchant of Venice (2004) with Al Pacino, and Fenech accepted Quentin Tarantino's offer to star in another movie, Hostel: Part II.
Personal life
Fenech was born in Bône, Constantine, French Algeria (now Annaba, Annaba Province in Algeria) to a Maltese father and Sicilian mother. She was married to Italian film producer Luciano Martino from 1971 to 1979. In the mid-1990s, she was engaged to the well-known Italian industrialist Luca di Montezemolo. Her son Edwin, born in 1971, has worked at her production company and also at Ferrari Japan and Ferrari China.
Selected filmography
References
- ↑ "Edwige Fenech". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
- ↑ INTERVISTA A EDWIGE FENECH
- ↑ Interview with Fenech, by Luigi Cozzi
- ↑ "Edwige Fenech". cultsirens.com. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
- ↑ "Edwige Fenech, the giallo queen". rarecultcinema.com. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
Further reading
- Stefano Loparco, Il corpo dei Settanta. Il corpo, l'immagine e la maschera di Edwige Fenech, Il Foglio Letterario, 2009. ISBN 978-8876062582.
External links
- Edwige Fenech at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Fenech, by Luigi Cozzi, from around 1970
- Edwige Fenech Movie poster images
- Edwige Fenech fan club