Goldoni was born Lelia Vita Rizzuto in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father was an Italian actor and she was a second cousin to baseball player Phil Rizzuto.[3] She attended Los Angeles City College and was one of the Lester Horton Dancers in the 1950s.[3]
A decade later, after moving back to New York and meeting John Cassavetes in an acting workshop, Goldoni attracted considerable attention and critical acclaim for her performance in his groundbreaking film Shadows (1959).[1] The film launched Goldoni's acting career,[4] and earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.[2]The New York Times wrote that she "brings a freshness and a touching sort of natural gaucherie to the role of the girl."[5]
Goldoni later co-starred in the episodes "Fair Exchange" and "Two Birds with One Bullet" of the British television series Danger Man (1964) with Patrick MacGoohan.[citation needed] She next starred as Denise James in the 1965 horror film Hysteria.[6] In 1969, Goldoni appeared in The Italian Job.[2][7]
In 2010, she appeared in the drama film Chain Link.[11] Two years later, her final performance was in the horror film The Devil Inside.[citation needed]
Goldoni was married twice, first to her Shadows co-star Ben Carruthers and then to writer Robert Rudelson.[2] With Rudelson, she had a child named Aaron.[2]
^Cotter, Robert Michael “Bobb” (2013). "Goldoni, Lelia (1936-)". The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland. p. 89. ISBN9781476602011. Retrieved July 27, 2018.