Italian film star Daria Nicolodi has died at age 70. The actress passed away Wednesday, her daughter, Asia Argento, confirmed on social media.
"Rest in peace beloved mother. Now you can fly free with your great spirit and you won't have to suffer anymore," Asia captioned a series of photos of her mother on Instagram. "I will try to go on for your beloved grandchildren and especially for you who would never want to see me so grieved. Even if without you I miss the ground under my feet, and I feel I have lost my only true point of reference. I am close to all those who have known and loved her. I will always be your Aria, Daria."
Nicolodi was known as an Italian horror movie icon in the 1970s and '80s. Born in Florence on June 19, 1950, she attended the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome and began her career in theater before turning her attention to film, according to IMDB.
Her breakout role came in 1975, when she appeared in director Dario Argento's film "Deep Red," Fox News reported. The pair were in a long-term relationship during which time Nicolodi appeared in several of Dario's other films, including "Inferno" (1980), "Tenebrae" (1982), "Phenomena" (1984), and "Opera" (1987). They shared Asia together.
In addition to her on-screen appearances, Nicolodi also worked behind the cameras and contributed to Dario's screenplay for "Suspiria."
"The inspiration came from a tale my grandmother, Yvonne, used to tell me when I was a child, after an experience she had in a northern acting academy where she discovered the teachers were teaching arts, but also black magic," Nicolodi told GoreZone Magazine, per SyFy Wire. "I was fond of this story of hers, more than Pinocchio by Collodi, and when I told it to Dario it was natural for him to fall in love with it, too. It was his first step from thrillers to fantasy-alchemy movies, and we did it together."
Nicolodi is survived by Dario, Asia, and two grandchildren, Anna Lou Castoldi and Nicola Giovanni Civetta. She had a daughter, Anna, with Mario Ceroli in 1973, but she died in a car accident in 1994.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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