Edwige Fenech
Born: December 24, 1948
Age: 75
Birthplace: Bône, French Algeria (now Annaba, Algeria)
Edwige Fenech (born Edwige Sfenek; 24 December 1948) is a French-born Italian actress and film producer.
Cinema career
Fenech moved from Nice to Rome in 1967 for her first Italian film Samoa, regina della giungla by Guido Malatesta. 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 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. 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
Year | Title | Role | Director |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Sexy Susan Sins Again | Céline | Franz Antel |
1968 | Samoa, Queen of the Jungle | Samoa | Guido Malatesta |
1969 | Top Sensation (it) | Ulla | Ottavio Alessi |
1969 | Madame Bovary | Emma Bovary | Hans Schott-Schöbinger |
1970 | Five Dolls for an August Moon | Marie Chaney | Mario Bava |
1970 | The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh | Julie Wardh | Sergio Martino |
1972 | When Women Were Called Virgins | Giulia Varrone | Aldo Grimaldi |
1972 | The Case of the Bloody Iris | Jennifer Osterman | Giuliano Carnimeo |
1972 | All the Colors of the Dark | Jane Harrison | Sergio Martino |
1972 | Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key | Floriana | Sergio Martino |
1972 | Ubalda, All Naked and Warm | Ubalda | Mariano Laurenti |
1972 | Naughty Nun | Antonia | Mariano Laurenti |
1973 | Giovannona Long-Thigh | Giovannona Coscialunga | Sergio Martino |
1973 | Mean Frank and Crazy Tony | Orchidea | Michele Lupo |
1973 | Holy God, Here Comes the Passatore! | Mora | Giuliano Carnimeo |
1973 | Anna, quel particolare piacere | Anna | Giuliano Carnimeo |
1974 | Poker in Bed | Eva | Giuliano Carnimeo |
1974 | Innocence and Desire | Carmela Paternò | Massimo Dallamano |
1975 | Strip Nude for Your Killer | Magda | Andrea Bianchi |
1975 | The School Teacher | Giovanna Pagaus | Nando Cicero |
1975 | Lover Boy | Marianna | Marino Girolami |
1975 | La moglie vergine | Valentina | Marino Girolami |
1976 | Sex with a Smile | Emilia Chiapponi | Sergio Martino |
1976 | Confessions of a Lady Cop | Gianna Amicucci | Michele Massimo Tarantini |
1976 | My Sister in Law | Viola Orlando/ Rosa Orlando | Lucio Fulci |
1976 | Evil Thoughts | Francesca Marani | Ugo Tognazzi |
1977 | The Schoolteacher Goes to Boys' High | Monica Sebastiani | Mariano Laurenti |
1977 | The Virgo, the Taurus and the Capricorn | Gioia Ferretti | Luciano Martino |
1977 | Taxi Girl | Marcella | Michele Massimo Tarantini |
1978 | The School Teacher in the House | Luisa De Dominicis | Michele Massimo Tarantini |
1978 | Amori miei | Deborah | Steno |
1978 | The Greatest Battle | Danielle | Umberto Lenzi |
1979 | Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot | Barbara Wimply | Steno |
1979 | La patata bollente | Maria | Steno |
1979 | A Policewoman on the Porno Squad | Gianna D'Amico | Michele Massimo Tarantini |
1979 | Saturday, Sunday and Friday | Eng. Tokimoto | Sergio Martino |
1980 | Sugar, Honey and Pepper | Amalia Passalacqua | Sergio Martino |
1980 | I'm Photogenic | Cinzia Pancaldi | Dino Risi |
1980 | Il ladrone | Deborah | Pasquale Festa Campanile |
1980 | Io e Caterina | Elisabetta | Alberto Sordi |
1980 | La moglie in vacanza... l'amante in città | Giulia | Sergio Martino |
1981 | Asso | Silvia | Castellano & Pipolo |
1981 | A Policewoman in New York | Gianna Amicucci / La Pupa | Michele Massimo Tarantini |
1981 | Cornetti alla crema | Marianna | Sergio Martino |
1981 | Il ficcanaso | Susanna Luisetti | Bruno Corbucci |
1982 | Il paramedico | Nina Miglio | Sergio Nasca |
1982 | Don't Play with Tigers | Francesca Del Prà | Sergio Martino |
1984 | Vacanze in America | Miss De Romanis | Carlo Vanzina |
1988 | Phantom of Death | Hélène Martell | Ruggero Deodato |
1993 | Private Crimes | Nicole Venturi | Sergio Martino |
2007 | Hostel: Part II | Art Class Professor | Eli Roth |