Alba Arnova


Alba Arnova was an Italian-Argentine ballerina and film actress.

Life and career

Born in Buenos Aires as Alba Fossati, daughter of two Italian emigrants, Arnova studied piano at the Conservatory and enrolled in the university at the medical faculty. She became the principal classical dancer of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and changed her surname first to Ars Nova and then to Arnova. She left Argentina in 1948, for a six months stage tour, and eventually remained in Rome, where she worked first in theater as a classical dancer and as a revue and avanspettacolo soubrette. She began acting in films in 1949, though usually in minor roles.
In 1956 Arnova created a controversy when she appeared on the RAI television variety show La piazzetta wearing a tight leotard that made her appear semi-nude because of the lighting effects and the black-and-white system. The show was suspended and she was subsequently fired and banned from Italian television. She subsequently chose to leave showbusiness.
Arnova was married to composer and conductor Gianni Ferrio.

Filmography