Daria Nicolodi (1950 - )

Date of Birth: 19 May? June? 1950
Place of Birth: Florence, Italy
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Also Known As:

Although best known as the long time partner of horror director Dario Argento (they were never married as was widely reported), Daria Nicolodi had already appeared in three films prior to her debut performance for Argento, in his 1975 masterpiece Profondo rosso. She would continue to work with Argento through to their separation in 1987 shortly before the making of Opera (1987), their last collaboration together. It's perhaps no coincidence that Argento's work since Opera has been decidedly sub-standard, suggesting that Nicolodi's influence (she often worked uncredited on storylines and script ideas) was integral to Argento's early success.

Nicolodi had been attracted to the occult and the supernatural as a child - she has suggested that her grandmother, who many people believed was a practitioner of white magic, was responsible for this fascination and certainly she seems to have had an enormous influence on the young Nicolodi.

At the age of 17, Nicolodi enrolled at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and, on graduation, enjoyed a successful career as a stage actress. It wasn't until 1970 that she made the move into films, appearing in Francesco Rosi's Uomini contro. She followed this with roles in Carmelo Bene's Salome (1972) and La proprietà non è più un furto (1973) by Elio Petri before her her first meeting with Dario Argento in 1975.

Nicolodi had admired Argento's work since she'd first seen L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo in 1969 and had been trying to find a way to meet the director ever since. When they finally did get together, they struck up a rapport straight away and he cast her as the journalist Gianna in Profondo rosso. Her performance also went down with Argento's fans who immediately warmed to her.

Nicolodi also contributed behind the scenes - it was she who suggested that Argento try out a relatively obscure rock band named Goblin to play the film's score. She play an even more important role - albeit uncredited - on Argento's next film, the mighty Suspiria (1977), for which she wrote the original treatment from stories she'd heard from her grandmother. She also introduced Argento to the work of the 19th century writer Thomas DeQuincey whose influence can be felt all over Suspiria and its follow up Inferno (1980).

Nicolodi was due to play the central character, Suzy Bannon, but had to withdraw either due to an accident in which she sprained her ankle or interference from the American distributor who wanted an American actress in the lead role - the account of her failure to appear seems to change depending on which source you read.

She was back in front of the cameras for Inferno, which again she wrote a treatment for, and she has long talked about a treatment for the proposed third and concluding part of the Three Mothers story that now looks very unlikely to ever be made. She continued to work with Argento, appearing in Tenebre (1982), Phenomena (1985) and Opera (1987), after which their relationship alledgedly disintegrated to the point where they could no longer work together.

Very early in their relationship, Nicolodi had given birth to their daughter Asia, who would later carve an acting career of her own and would work several times with her father. In 2000, mother and daughter appeared together in Scarlet Diva, a film directed by Asia and produced by Argento and his brother Claudio.
KEVIN LYONS

All as performer unless otherwise noted
* = television

GENRE FILMOGRAPHY

1972
Salomé (performer)

1975
Profondo rosso (performer (Gianna Brezzi))
Deep Red
Deep Red Hatchet Murders
Dripping Deep Red
Les frissons de la terreur - French Canadian / French title
Les frissons de l'angoisse - French title
Gleboka czerwien - Polish title
The Hatchet Murders
Prelúdio Para Matar - Brazilian title
Rojo oscuro - Spanish title
Rojo profundo - Argentinean title
Rosso - Die Farbe des Todes - West German title
Rosso - Farbe des Todes - German title
The Sabre Tooth Tiger
Suspiria 2 - Japanese title
Suspiria Part 2 - Japanese title
Verenpunainen kauhu - Finnish title

1977
Schock (performer (Dora Baldini))
Beyond the Door II - US title
Schock (Transfert-Suspence-Hypnos)
Suspense

Suspiria (treatment writer (uncredited))
Flykten från helvetet - Swedish title
Suspiria - In den Krallen des Bösen - West German advertising title
Suspiria - tappavat huokaukset - Finnish television title

1978
La venere di Ille *

1980
Inferno (performer (Elise Stallone Van Adler))
A Mansão do Inferno - Brazilian title
Feuertanz der Zombies - West German advertising title
Horror Infernal - West German title
Infernal Horror - West German title
Inferno 80 - Finnish title
Infierno - Spanish title

1982
Tenebre (performer (Anne))
Pelkoa ei voi paeta - Finnish title
Shiadô - Japanese title
Sotto gli occhi dell'assassino
Tenebrae
Tenebre - Der kalte Hauch des Todes - West German title
Ténebre - Spanish title
Ténèbres - French title
Tinieblas - Argentinean / Spanish title
Unsane - US title

1985
World of Horror: Il meglio di Dario Argento (herself)
Dario Argento. Todo el horror - Argentinean video title
Dario Argento's World of Horror
Le monde de l'horreur - French title
Il mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento

Phenomena (Frau Bruckner)
Creepers - US / UK title
Nasty Creepers (?)
Rampaging Insects

1987
Le foto di gioia (performer (Evelyn))
Delirium
Delirium: Photo of Gioia - US DVD title
Gioia's Photograph
Photo of Gioia
Photos of Joy
Das Unheimliche Auge - West German title

Opera (performer (Mira))
Im Zeichen des Raben - West German title
Terreur à l'opéra - French title
Terror at the Opera - US title
Terror en la ópera - Argentinean title
Terror in der Oper - West German title
Terror na Ópera - Brazilian title
Terror na Opera - Portugese title

Turno di notte: Giallo Natale (December 1987) (performer) *

1989
Alta tensions: Il gioko (performer (Diana)) *
School of Fear - English language title

Il gatto nero (script (uncredited))
The Black Cat
Czarny kot - Polish title
Dead Eyes - West German title
Demons 6 - US title
Demons 6: De Profundis - US title
Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat
El gato Negro - Venezuelan title

Paganini Horror (script, performer (Sylvia Hackett))
The Killing Violin
Il violino che uccide - alternative title

Sinbad of the Seven Seas (performer (narrator))
Sinbad
Sinbad, el rey de los mares - Spanish title
Sindbad - Herr der sieben Meere - West German title

1990
Avventura di Marina (narrator / Queen Camillia) *
Aventuras de la pequeña sirenita por Saban - Chilean title
Las aventuras de Marina - Argentinean title
Den lille havfruen - Norwegian title
Mohoum un Marina - South Korean title
Ningyo Hime Marina no noken - Japanese title
Pieni merenneito - Finnish title
Saban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid - US title
Una sirenetta inamorata - Italian title
La sirenita - Spanish title

1991
Dario Argento: Master of Horror (performer (herself))

1997
Il mondo di Dario Argento 3: Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento (performer (herself))

2000
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (performer (herself)) *

Deep Red 25th Anniversary (performer (as Gianna Brezzi in archive footage from Profondo rosso (1975)))

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (performer (herself)) *

2001
Conducting Dario Argento's Opera (performer (herself))

Suspiria 25th Anniversary (performer (herself))

2004
Mario Bava: Operazione paura (performer (herself)) *

NON-GENRE FILMOGRAPHY

1970
Uomini contro (performer (nurse))
A Vontade de Um General - Portugese title
Bataillon der Verlorenen - West German title
Les hommes contre - French title
Ingen mans land - Swedish title
Kuoleman etuvartio - Finnish title
Many Wars Ago - US title

1972
I Nicotera (performer) *

1973
La proprietà non è più un furto (performer (Anita))

1975
Ritratto di donna velata (performer (Elisa)) *

1981
Il minestrone (performer (Clara De Peyhorrade)) *

1982
Verdi (Margherita) *
Giuseppe Verdi - Swedish title
The Life of Verdi

1984
Sogni e bisogni (performer) *

1985
Maccheroni (Laura Di Falco)
Macaroni - Argentinean / Finnish / US video / West German title
Macarrones - Spanish title

1993
La fine è nota (performer (Avv. Mila))
The End Is Known
Netz der Vergangenheit - German title

1996
Io ballo da sola

1997
Viola bacia tutti (Sibilla)
Viola Kisses Everybody - US title

1998
La parola amore esiste (Madre di Angela)
Ist Liebe nur ein Wort? - German title
Mots d'amour - French title
Notes of Love - US title

2000
Rosa e Cornelia (Eleonora (madre di Cornelia))
Rosa and Cornelia - English language title

Diva escarlata - Argentinean title
Scarlet Diva - French title
Scarlet Diva

2004
Soleado (performer (Ms Fogoni))

SEE ALSO
Dario Argento
Asia Argento

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009