Ilona Staller
Encyclopedia
Ilona Staller also known by her stage name la Cicciolina, is a Hungarian-born Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 porn star, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, and singer. She continued to make hardcore pornographic films while in office. She is famous for delivering political speeches with one breast exposed.

Early life

Anna Ilona was born in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. Her biological father, László Staller left the family when she was just a girl, and then she was raised by her stepfather, who was an official in the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, and her mother, a midwife. In 1964 she began working for a Hungarian modeling agency, M.T.I. In her memoirs and in a 1999 TV interview, she claimed that she had provided Hungarian authorities with information on American diplomats staying at a Budapest luxury hotel where she worked as a maid in the late 1960s.

Pornography and show business career

Naturalized by marriage and settled in Italy, she met pornographer Riccardo Schicchi
Riccardo Schicchi
Riccardo Schicchi is an Italian pornographer who became famous with his photography and films featuring Ilona Staller and Moana Pozzi in the 1980s...

 in the early 1970s, and, beginning in 1973, achieved fame with a radio show called "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
' is a French phrase that has become well-known in the English-speaking world through popular songs. It is perhaps best known from the song "Lady Marmalade," first popularized in 1975 by the group Labelle...

" on Radio Luna. For that program she adopted the name "la Cicciolina," which translates, loosely, as "Cuddles". She has referred to her male fanbase and later the Italian parliament as "cicciolini", translating loosely as "little tubby boys". Although she appeared in several films from 1970, she made her debut under her own name in 1975 with "La Liceale," whose U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 title was "The Teasers," playing a lesbian classmate of Gloria Guida
Gloria Guida
Gloria Guida is an Italian actress and model. She is most famous for starring in sexy film comedies.-Biography:Gloria Guida was born in Merano, South Tyrol, to a family of Emilia Romagna origin. She moved with her family to Bologna as a child. She first began a singing career, starting in her...

. In 1978, on the RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...

 show "C'era due Volte", her breasts were the first to be bared live on Italian TV.

She appeared in her first hardcore pornographic film, Il telefono rosso ("The Red Telephone") in 1983. She produced the film together with Schicchi's company Diva Futura
Diva Futura
Diva Futura is an Italian pornography and erotica film studio. When founded in 1983 by porn star Ilona Staller and photographer and talent scout Riccardo Schicchi, it was the first casting agency in Italy to specialize in pornography...

.

Her memoirs were published as Confessioni erotiche di Cicciolina by the Olympia Press of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 in 1987. That same year she appeared in Carne bollente (called "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empress" in the US), co-starring John Holmes
John Holmes (actor)
John Curtis Holmes better known as John C. Holmes or Johnny Wadd , was one of the most prolific male porn stars of all time, appearing in about 2,500 adult loops, stag films, and pornographic feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s...

. The film would later create a furor when it was revealed that Holmes had tested positive for HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 prior to appearing in it.

Staller married American sculptor Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....

 in 1991. Koons produced a series of sculptures and photographs of them having sex in many positions, settings and costumes, which were exhibited under the title "Made In Heaven." The marriage broke up in 1992, and their son Ludwig Maximillian was born shortly afterwards. Staller left the US with the child, and a lengthy custody battle ensued. Koons won custody in 1998 but Ludwig remains with Staller in Italy. In 2008, Staller filed suit against Koons for failing to pay child support.

Staller has appeared nude in the Playboy Magazine
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

s editions in several countries. Her first Playboy appearance was in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in March 1988. Other appearances for the magazine were in the U.S. (September 1990), Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 (June 2005), Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 (July 2005) and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 (September, 2005).

In 1994, she appeared in the film "Replikator
Replikator
Replikator is a 1994 science fiction film starring Michael St. Gerard, Brigitte Bako and Ned Beatty...

", and in 1996, she had a role in the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 "Xica da Silva." as Princess Ludovica di Castelgandolfo di Genova. In 2008, she was a contestant on the Argentine version of "Strictly Come Dancing" named "Bailando por un Sueño". She withdrew after breaking a rib in rehearsals.

Political career

In 1979, Staller was presented as a candidate to the Italian Parliament from the "Lista del Sole", Italy's first Green party. In 1985, she switched to the Partito Radicale
Italian Radicals
Italian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...

, campaigning on a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 platform against nuclear energy and NATO membership, and for human rights.

She was elected to the Italian parliament
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...

 in 1987, with approx. 20,000 votes. While in office, and before the outset of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 she offered to have sex with Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 if he would release the foreign hostages.http://www.askmen.com/daily/austin_60/97c_fashion_style.html She was not reelected at the end of her term in 1991.

In 1991, Staller was among the founders of the political movement Partito dell'Amore
Partito dell'Amore
Partito dell'Amore is a political party in Italy co-founded on July 12, 1991 by pornstars Moana Pozzi and Ilona Staller , the latter one being famous for actually being elected member of the Italian parliament in 1987...

 (Love Party), spearheaded by her friend and fellow porn star Moana Pozzi
Moana Pozzi
Moana Pozzi , often called simply Moana, was an Italian pornographic actress, actress, television personality, model, politician and writer.-Early years:...

.

In January 2002, she began exploring the possibility of campaigning in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, her country of birth, to represent Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

's industrial Kőbánya
Kobánya
Kőbánya is the 10th district of Budapest and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Metro 3, whose terminus is named Kőbánya-Kispest....

 district in the Hungarian parliament. However, she failed to collect enough petition signatures for a non-partisan candidacy. In the same year, she ran in local elections in Monza
Monza
Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, promising to convert a prominent building into a gambling casino, but she attracted few votes. In 2004, she announced plans to run for mayor of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 with a similar promise.

She renewed her offer to have sex with Saddam Hussein in October 2002, when Iraq was resisting international pressure to allow inspections for weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...

, and in April 2006 made the same offer to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

.

Musical career

Staller has recorded several songs, mostly from live performances, with explicit lyrics being sung to a children's melody. Her most famous song is "Muscolo Rosso," a song entirely dedicated to il cazzo, which means "the dick" in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

. Because of its extensive use of swear words, the song could not be released in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, but became a hit in other countries, especially in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, where the listeners did not grasp the meaning of the lyrics. The song gained considerable popularity in the internet era, when many Italian speakers were able to hear it for the first time.

Several unreleased songs were recorded during her RCA period and the Diva Futura agency period. some of these unreleased songs were subsequently used during her TV shows, live performances or as soundtracks in her porn movies.

LPs/CDs

  • 1979 Ilona Staller (RCA PL 31442) published at least in Italy and Colombia
    Colombia
    Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

     (The Colombian record has titles in Spanish
    Spanish language
    Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

    ). Also music tape exists.
Tracklist
  • I was made for dancing / Pane Marmellata e Me / Labbra / Benihana / Lascia l'ultimo ballo per me / Cavallina Cavallo (by Ennio Morricone
    Ennio Morricone
    Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...

    ) / It's all up to you / Professor of Percussions / Più su sempre più su
    • 1987 Muscolo Rosso (BOY RECORDS) published in Spain
      Spain
      Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

       only.
Tracklist
  • Russians / Inno (Come un angelo) / Satisfaction / Telefono Rosso (Avec Toi) / Balck Sado / Goccioline (Bambole) / Perversion / Animal Rock / Nirvana / Muscolo Rosso / Muscolo Rosso (reprise)
    • 1988 Sonhos Eróticos printed in Brazil
      Brazil
      Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

       only (ALL DISC 00.101.009, also music tape 00.107.009). Basically a reprint of the English long playing Erotic dreams plus the two Cicciolina songs "Muscolo Rosso" and "Avec toi". The other songs are performed by Erotic Dreams Band. Some Cicciolina's speeches are used in "La prima volta" song. Cover is dedicated to Cicciolina.
Tracklist
  • Muscolo Rosso / Emmanuelle / Bilitis / Le Réve / La Prima Volta / I feel love / Je t'aime... moi non plus / Histoire d'O / Les Femmes / Black Emmanuelle / Love to love you bay / Avec Toi
    • 1994 Sonhos Eróticos (Brazil
      Brazil
      Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

       only, All Disc RQ 032) Reprint of 1988 LP with a new layout of the cover, with background from brown to pink and violet.
    • 2000 Ilona Staller (CD, in United Kingdom
      United Kingdom
      The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

       only, Sequel Records/Caste Music NEMCD398); reprint on CD of the 1979 LP, plus the two extended tracks of the red vinyl mix.

7" disks

  • 1976 "Voulez vous coucher avec moi?" (Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     only, with neither serial number nor cover; on the vinyl it is written "Nuovo Playore 1° Radio Rete 4 D.R." only); from the same-named radio programme on Radio Luna station by Riccardo Schicchi
    Riccardo Schicchi
    Riccardo Schicchi is an Italian pornographer who became famous with his photography and films featuring Ilona Staller and Moana Pozzi in the 1980s...

     where the nickname Cicciolina was born.
  • 1979 "I was made for dancing" / "Più su sempre su su" (Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     only, RCA PB 6323)
  • 1979 "Cavallina Cavallo" / "Più su sempre più su" (Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

     only, RCA SS 3205)
  • 1980 "Buone Vacanze" / "Ti amo uomo" (Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     only, RCA BB 6449)
  • 1981 "Ska Skatenati" / "Disco Smack" (Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     only, LUPUS LUN 4917)
  • 1987 "Muscolo Rosso" / "Avec Toi" (SFC 17117-7) symbolo the Italian Radical Party on the cover. The record was published in France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

     and limitedly in other European countries.
  • 1987 "Muscolo Rosso" / "Russians" (Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     only, BOY-028-PRO) promo for journalist; no cover.

12" mix and picture disks

  • 1979 "I was made for dancing" (extended version) / "Save the last dance for me" (English
    English language
    English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

     original version of "Lascia l'ultimo ballo per me") (Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     only, RCA PD 6327, red vinyl mix without cover, promo for Djs).
  • 1987 "Muscolo Rosso" / "Russians" (Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     only, BOY-028) versions are not extended, the same as 7".
  • 1989 "San Francisco Dance" / "Living in my Paradise" / "My Sexy Shop" (Acv 5472) Picture disk; limited edition; published in Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

    , together with her colleague Moana Pozzi
    Moana Pozzi
    Moana Pozzi , often called simply Moana, was an Italian pornographic actress, actress, television personality, model, politician and writer.-Early years:...

    's release.

Collaborations

  • 1979 Dedicato al Mar Egeo, LP soundtrack by Ennio Morricone
    Ennio Morricone
    Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...

     published in Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

     only; though she does not sing, she is portrayed naked on the inlay and back-cover. She recorded two songs from that album ("Cavallina a cavallo" and "Mar Egeo") later in the year. The LP exists in 2 versions, one with Japanese titles, the other with Italian titles. Also CD version exists.
  • 1979 Aquarium sounds, LP of an Italian TV programme; she sings on the "Elena Tip" track.

Quotations

  • "My breasts have never done anyone any harm, while bin Laden's war has caused thousands of victims." -- October 2002

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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