Edwige Fenech
Born Dec. 24th, 1948

If you have watched more than a handful of Italian giallos, then chances are you’ve seen Edwige Fenech in action. And she is one that is hard to forget. Born in France, she started her career in beauty contests, eventually moving into modeling. In 1967, she made her film debut in the comedy All Mad About Him. She continued to work making films, mostly comedies, in France, Germany, and Italy. Her first real thriller was Top Sensation (1969), that co-starred another Italian sex symbol Rosalba Neri. She appeared in Mario Bava’s 5 Dolls for an August Moon (1970), then the following year starred in her first film with director Sergio Martino, the 1971 film The Strange Vice of Mr.s Wardh (aka Blade of the Ripper). She would go on to star in quite a few giallos in the next few years, many of them for Martino, titles such as All the Colors of the Dark (1972), The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), Your Vice is Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), and even with director Ruggero Deodato in Phantom of Death (1988).

In the ’80s, she became a television personality, hosting a talk show for a while. After a while, she moved into movie producing, which she  has been doing since. She even co-produced the 2004 version of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino.

Seeing Fenech’s name in any movie was always an extra bonus. Such a great talent and just beautiful to watch, she is one of the reasons that Italian giallos are still as popular these days as they were back then. Of course, it might have also helped since she was usually in some form of undress during the movie….a lot.