My first memory of Daria Nicolodi, an actress born in 1950 in Florence, goes back to the RAI series Ritratto di donna velata in 1975: fascinating, enigmatic, magnetic…
Daria Nicolodi’s meeting with Dario Argento in 1974 for the casting of Deep Red was decisive for her career and personal life.
Their artistic and romantic partnership lasted for years, and they had a daughter together, Asia Argento.
Beyond being Argento’s “muse” and playing several roles in his films, Daria Nicolodi also contributed as a screenwriter to all of his films from 1975 to 1987, including:
Deep Red
Suspiria
Inferno
Tenebre
Phenomena
Opera
After her relationship with the Roman director ended, she occasionally appeared in horror/thriller films and accepted a cameo in The Mother of Tears, alongside her daughter Asia, once again directed by her former partner.
In 1994, she suffered a tragic loss when her eldest daughter, Anna, died in a car accident. Her public appearances became increasingly rare.
Daria Nicolodi suffered a severe stroke on August 12, 2020, and, after emergency surgery, she never fully recovered and passed away in Rome on November 26, 2020, at the age of 70.
It was thanks to Daria Nicolodi that Dario Argento conceived the Three Mothers trilogy.
Dario had the idea of telling a dark fairy tale, a horror version of Snow White, but he couldn’t find the right key to make it a film. It was Daria (a great enthusiast and expert in occultism) who placed Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey in her partner’s hands.
Mater Suspiriorum, Mater Tenebrarum, and Mater Lacrimarum.
Immerse yourself in a world of vintage cinema with Terroretrò