Romina Francesca Power (born October 2, 1951)[1] is an American actress and singer born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actor Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian. With ex-husband Albano Carrisi, she formed the music duo Al Bano & Romina Power, which gained popularity in many parts of the world during the 1980s.
Biography
Childhood
Power is the eldest daughter of American screen idol Tyrone Power and his second wife, Mexican actress Linda Christian. She was named after Rome, where her parents had fallen in love; her middle name is in reference to the church of Santa Francesca Romana, the site of their wedding ceremony.[1]
Initially, she grew up in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. After her parents divorced in 1956, Power and her younger sister Taryn were sent to live with their maternal grandmother in Mexico. They went to live briefly with their mother and her new husband, Edmund Purdom, but were later sent to boarding schools in England, Switzerland, and Italy.[2] Among the schools Power attended was Cobham Hall School in Kent, England.[3] Later, both Power and her mother lived in a penthouse in the Roman quartiere of Parioli.[4]
Acting career
Power began trying out for film roles at age 12. She made her screen debut at age 14 in the Italian film Menage all'italiana, starring alongside Ugo Tognazzi and Anna Moffo.[5] Power subsequently appeared in several films, achieving notoriety for acting in roles that highlighted her sex appeal.[6] In December 1966, her role in the film How I Learned to Love Women came under attack from the Italian public and government, as well as the Catholic Church.[7] Ludovico Montini, brother of Pope Paul VI, and other Christian Democratic senators charged that Power was forced to rehearse "lewd scenes for the film countless times."[8] The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, called the film's moral content dubious and opined that minors should have been banned from viewing it.[7] In 1969, her starring role in the film Marquis de Sade: Justine resulted in its banning in Italy and in the seizure of all prints.[9]
In an interview Power gave in 1966, she said that despite her typecasting she did not regard herself as a "Lolita."[10] In a later interview in 1970, Power expressed regret for having let her mother choose sexually suggestive film roles for her.[11][12]
In 2005, Power was a judge in the Italian TV show Ballando con le Stelle. Between 2006 and 2007, she organized exhibitions of her paintings, mainly in Milan. At the same time she dedicated herself to directing her film Upaya.[citation needed]
In 2007, Power moved back to the United States, buying a house in Sedona, Arizona. According to an interview she gave to the Italian press at the time, she felt to be perceived by the Italian public merely as a performer of "Il ballo del qua-qua" (a song for children), and that she found it difficult to establish herself in Italy as a painter and writer. Power also stated that she was disturbed by the intrusive attention of the local press, which published multiple articles speculating about her private life and the disappearance of her daughter Ylenia.[13][14]
Shortly after Power's relocation in 2008, her mother Linda Christian was diagnosed with colon cancer. Power went to live in her mother's house in Palm Springs, where she remained until her mother's death on July 22, 2011. In a November 2009 interview she gave to Italian TV she stated she had considered, at least for some time, a possible return to Italy.[citation needed]She has continued living and working in the United States.[needs update]
In the fall of 2012 her album Da lontano was released, containing songs written in 1999. In the summer of 2013, Power and Carrisi reunited for a concert performance in Moscow.[15][16]
Personal life
Stanislas "Stash" Klossowski de Rola, the eldest son of the painter Balthus, proposed marriage to Power when she was 15 and he was 23.[17] She accepted and her mother approved, provided that he wait until Power turned 18 and was allowed to develop artistically first.[18] Klossowski de Rola introduced Power to Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, and Syd Barrett, with whom she later became friends.[citation needed] The couple later postponed their wedding indefinitely.[19]
In 1969, Power announced her engagement to Albano Carrisi.[20] Upon their engagement, Carrisi persuaded Power to refrain from accepting any more risqué film roles and restricted the presence of her mother on set.[21] They married on July 26, 1970.[22]
Power and Carrisi separated in 1999.[23] Their divorce was finalized in 2012.[24] They have four children:
Cristèl Chiara Carrisi (born December 25, 1985), who appeared in Italian reality TV show La Fattoria 2 (The Farm).
Romina Yolanda Carrisi (born June 1, 1987), who appeared in the 2005 edition of Italian reality TV show Isola dei Famosi (a version of Survivor) with her father.
Weihnachten bei uns zu Hause (1990) (also known as Corriere di Natale)
Navidad ha llegado (1991) (Spanish)
Vincerai (1991)
Vencerás (1991) (Spanish)
Notte e giorno (1993)
El tiempo de amarse (1993) (Spanish)
Emozionale (1995)
Amor sagrado (1995) (Spanish)
Ancora... Zugabe (1996)
The Very Best – Live aus Verona (2015)
Raccogli l'attimo (2020)
Bibliography
Al Bano & Romina Power: Autoritratto dalla A alla R (Rizzoli, 1989)
Cercando mio padre (Gremese, 1998)
Ho sognato Don Chisciotte (Bompiani, 2000)
Kalifornia (It's Here Now) (Arcana, 2004)
Upaya (Fazi Editore, 2005)
Ti prendo per mano (Mondadori, 2015)
Karma Express (Mondadori, 2017)
References
^ ab"Daughter Born to Tyrone Powers". Redding Record Searchlight. Redding, CA. Associated Press. October 3, 1951. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^Rhodes, Andrew (December 4, 1966). "A Film Veteran at 15". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^"In Father's Footsteps?". New York Daily News. December 22, 1965. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022. Actress Romina Power, daughter of the late Tyrone Power, . . . at a cast party in Rome following her screen debut in the Italian comedy 'Menage, Italian Style.'
^Graham, Sheilah (December 13, 1966). "Sheilah Graham in Hollywood". Des Moines Tribune. North American Newspaper Alliance. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^ ab"'Erotic' Teen Scenes Protested in Rome". New York Daily News. Associated Press. December 2, 1966. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Italy's Teen-Agers Idolize Romina Power". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Long Beach, CA. Associated Press. August 5, 1966. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022. 'Some people see me as a Lolita, but I don't like that,' Romina said disdainfully. 'I don't see myself as that at all.'
^Broadley, Wes. "Bradley Broadley". Colorado Springs Gazette. Colorado Springs, CO. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022. My mother talked me into doing nude movie scenes when I was only fourteen.
^"The Last Word". Burlington Daily Times-News. Burlington, NC. Retrieved March 23, 2022. Mother should really have seen the mistakes I was making.
^Scott, Walter (January 8, 1967). "Walter Scott's Personality Parade". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Parade. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022. Romina Power has agreed to marry her prince if he agrees to wait until she is 18. The prince is Stanislas Kosslowski de Rola, . . . 23, oldest son of the French painter Balthus. He plays the guitar, is known in Paris Left Bank circles as "Stash." [Linda] Christian approves of the match but first would like to see her daughter develop into a film star.
^Manners, Dorothy (April 5, 1969). "Dorothy Manners' Hollywood". Scranton Tribune. Scranton, PN. King Features Syndicate. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^O'Brian, Jack (October 14, 1969). "Reason To Hire A Press Agent". San Francisco Examiner. New York Journal-American. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^"Tyrone's Romina Weds". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY. Associated Press. July 27, 1970. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.