Biography
by Yuri German
Italian singer, dancer and TV personality Raffaella Carrà, who is also popular in Spain and Latin America, was born Raffaella Pelloni on June 18, 1943 in Bellaria, Rimini. After her graduation from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, she acted in a dozen of films between 1960 and 1970, including 1965's Von Ryan's Express with Frank Sinatra. That same year Carrà played in the musical comedy Scaramouche. Beginning in 1961, she also ventured into television, appearing on the shows like Tempo di Danza, Il Paroliere and Questo Sconosciuto. In 1970, in the show Io, Agata e Tu Carrà launched the popular dance (and huge hit) tuca-tuca as a musical recording. In 1971, she had another success on the TV show Canzonissima performing the theme song "Chissà se Va." From the mid-'70s onward Carrà has been a popular TV hostess of various shows in Italy (Ma Che Sera, Fantastico 3, Pronto...Raffaella?, Domenica In, Weekend con Raffaella Carrà) and in Spain (Hola Raffaella).