Ornella Vanoni

• Name — Ornella Vanoni • Born — 22 September 1934 • Birthplace — Milan, Kingdom of Italy • Died — 21 November 2025 • Place of death — Milan, Italy • Genre — * Pop • traditional pop • jazz • soul • bossa nova • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • actress • Years Active — 1956–2025 • Label — * Dischi Ricordi • Ariston • Vanilla • CGD • Sony • Epic • Columbia • BMG • Discography — Ornella Vanoni discography

Vanoni started her artistic career in 1960 as a theatre actress. She mostly performed in Bertolt Brecht works, under the direction of Giorgio Strehler at his Piccolo Teatro in her native city of Milan. At the same time, she started a music career. The folklore and popular songs she explored in her early records, especially the ones about the criminal underworld in Milan (Canzoni della Mala), resulted in her receiving the nickname cantante della mala ("Underworld Singer") for singing Milanese dialect songs on that genre. Vanoni scored two major hits in 1963 with "Senza fine" and "Che cosa c'è", both written for her by Gino Paoli, who also sang and recorded his own versions. In 1964, she won the Festival of Neapolitan song with "Tu si na cosa grande". In the following years, she took part in a series of Festivals of Italian song in Sanremo with the songs "Abbracciami forte" (1965), "Io ti darò di più" (1966), "La musica è finita" (1967), "Casa Bianca" (1968), and "Eternità" (1970). "Casa Bianca", which finished second in 1968, was the subject of a copyright dispute between the composer of the song, Don Backy, and the Clan Celentano label. In the late 1960s, Vanoni recorded "Una ragione di più", "Un'ora sola ti vorrei", "L'appuntamento" (a cover of the Brazilian song "Sentado à beira do caminho" by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos) and "Non dirmi niente", a cover of Burt Bacharach's "Don't Make Me Over". In 1972, she sang "Quei giorni insieme a te", the theme from Lucio Fulci's critically acclaimed mystery thriller film Don't Torture a Duckling. • Illustration — Ornella Vanoni in 2007 In 1976, Vanoni collaborated with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho on the album La voglia, la pazzia, l'incoscienza, l'allegria, best remembered for its title track "La voglia, la pazzia". During the 1980s, she released "Ricetta di donna", "Uomini", and "Ti lascio una canzone" (with Gino Paoli). In 1989, she returned to the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Io come farò". In 1999, she recorded "Alberi", a duet with Enzo Gragnaniello. In 2004, she released an album of duets with Paoli to celebrate her 70th birthday. In addition to her music career, Vanoni was active in other creative fields, starring in stage and in television shows and movies. In January 1977, she posed nude for the Italian edition of Playboy magazine and requested a statuette by her long-time friend the artist Arnaldo Pomodoro as payment. The inclusion of her song "L'appuntamento" (1970) on the soundtrack of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve in 2004 sparked a worldwide renewal of interest in her music. The soundtrack of the Danish film Toscana (2022, Netflix) also featured the song.

Vanoni had several relationships with other artists, the most important of which were with Giorgio Strehler and Gino Paoli. Between 1960 and 1965, she was married to Lucio Ardenzi, from whom she had one son, Cristiano, in 1962. Due to Vanoni's busy professional life, the child was mainly raised by her parents. Vanoni was a Christian, and for a period she spent time with Protestants. She was a supporter of the AC Milan association football club. In June 2025, she received an honorary degree in "Music, Culture, Media and Performance" from the University of Milan. Vanoni died of a heart attack at her home in Milan on 21 November 2025, at the age of 91. Her casket lay in repose at the Piccolo Teatro, where she began her career. Her funeral was held at the Church of San Marco in the Brera district of Milan on 24 November 2025. Before her death, she requested that her remains be cremated and the ashes dispersed in the Venice Lagoon.

• Title — Year — Role(s) — Notes • Giosafatte Talarico — 1961 — Caterina Longoni — Television film • Sanremo Music Festival 1965 — 1965 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Abbracciami forte" – 2nd place • Sanremo Music Festival 1966 — 1966 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Io ti darò di più" – 6th place • Studio Uno — Herself / Co-host — Variety show (season 4) • Sanremo Music Festival 1967 — 1967 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "La musica è finita" – 4th place • Sanremo Music Festival 1968 — 1968 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Casa Bianca" – 2nd place • Addio giovinezza — Elena — Television film • Senza rete — 1968–1972 — Herself / Co-host — Variety show (season 1, 3 and 5) • Sanremo Music Festival 1970 — 1970 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Eternità" – 4th place • Il mulino del Po — 1971 — La Sniza — 2 episodes • L'appuntamento — 1973 — Herself / Host — Variety show • Fatti e fattacci — 1975 — Herself / Co-host — Variety show • Ritratto di Ornella — 1977 — Herself — Special • Due come noi — 1979 — Herself / Co-host — Variety show • Lady Magic — 1982 — Herself / Co-host — Variety show • Risatissima — 1984 — Herself / Regular guest — Variety show (season 1) • Insieme Vanoni Paoli — 1985 — Herself / Performer — Special • Sanremo Music Festival 1989 — 1989 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Io come farò" – 10th place • Ornella Vanoni in concerto — 1991 — Herself / Performer — Special • Sanremo Music Festival 1999 — 1999 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Alberi (with Enzo Gragnaniello) – 4th place • Ornella: Ancora più di me — 2008 — Herself / Host and performer — Special • Sanremo Music Festival 2009 — 2009 — Herself / Guest performer — Performing a medley of "Egocentrica" and "Una ragione in più" with Simona Molinari in the duets night • Star Academy — 2011 — Herself / Judge — Talent show (season 2) • Sanremo Music Festival 2018 — 2018 — Herself / Contestant — Competing with "Imparare ad amarsi" (with Bungaro and Pacifico) – 5th place • Sanremo Music Festival 2019 — 2019 — Herself / Guest performer — Performing "La gente e me" • Amici Celebrities — Herself / Judge — Celebrity version of Amici di Maria De Filippi • Sanremo Music Festival 2020 — 2020 — Herself / Guest performer — Performing "La voce del silenzio" with Alberto Urso in the duets night • Sanremo Music Festival 2021 — 2021 — Herself / Guest performer — Performing a medley of her greatest hits in the final night • La Compagnia del Cigno — Herself — Episode: "In guerra e in amore" • Sanremo Music Festival 2023 — 2023 — Herself / Guest performer — Performing a medley of "Vai, Valentina", "L'appuntamento" and "Eternità" in the final night • Ornella Vanoni: Senza fine — 2024 — Herself / Host and performer — Special • Che tempo che fa — 2024–2025 — Herself / Recurring guest — Talk show