Ornella Vanoni

Ornella Vanoni (; 22 September 1934 – 21 November 2025) was an Italian singer and songwriter. With a career spanning almost seventy years, she was one of Italy's longest-standing musical artists. During her long career, she released about 121 works between LPs, EPs and greatest hits albums, and sold over 65 million records, being considered one of the most popular performers of Italian pop music.

Artistic career 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 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 , resulted in her receiving the nickname ("Underworld Singer") for singing Milanese dialect songs on that genre.

Vanoni scored two major hits in 1963 with "" and "", 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 "". In the following years, she took part in a series of Festivals of Italian song in Sanremo with the songs "" (1965), "" (1966), "" (1967), "" (1968), and "" (1970). "", 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 "", "", "" (a cover of the Brazilian song "" by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos) and "", a cover of Burt Bacharach's "Don't Make Me Over". In 1972, she sang "", the theme from Lucio Fulci's critically acclaimed mystery thriller film Don't Torture a Duckling.

In 1976, Vanoni collaborated with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho on the album , best remembered for its title track "". During the 1980s, she released "", "", and "Ti lascio una canzone" (with Gino Paoli). In 1989, she returned to the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "". In 1999, she recorded "", 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 "" (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.

Personal life and death 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 , 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.

Discography

Studio albums

Ornella Vanoni (1961) (1963) (1965) Ornella (1966) Ornella Vanoni (1967) (1968) (1970) (1970) (1972) (1973) (1973) (1974) (1974) (1974) (1975) (1976) (1976) (1977) (1977) Vanoni (1978) (1980) (1981) (1983) Ornella &... (1986) (1987) (1989) (1990) (1992) Sheherazade (1995) (1997) (2001) (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2008) (2009) (2013) (2021) (2024)

Filmography Film

Television