Heather Elizabeth Parisi (born January 27, 1960) is an American-born Italian dancer, singer and television personality. She was one of the most popular personalities on Italian television from the late 1970s to the 1990s. As of 2011, she and her family mainly live in Hong Kong.[1]
Heather Parisi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Heather Elizabeth Parisi January 27, 1960 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse(s) | Giorgio Manenti (m. 1993; div. 1999) Umberto Maria Anzolin (m. 2013) |
| Children | 4 |
Life and career
editBorn in Los Angeles, Parisi worked in the United States for the San Francisco Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. During a vacation in Italy, she was noticed by the choreographer Franco Miseria, who made her audition for RAI. In 1979, Parisi debuted on the show Luna Park, hosted by Pippo Baudo.[2]
Her rise as a television star took place in the fall of the same year, with the first edition of the Saturday night show Fantastico, which had very high ratings (an average of 23.6 million viewers). In each episode, Parisi performed a ballet and interpreted the opening song "Disco Bambina." The song became a hit, peaking several weeks at first place on the Italian hit parade.[2][3]
Parisi was cast in four more editions of Fantastico and in other successful variety shows, and she also had several other musical hits, including the song "Cicale" which ranked first at the hit parade for four weeks between 1981 and 1982.[2][3] She slowed down her activities in the mid-'90s.[2]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parisi chose to remain unvaccinated.[4] On her website in December 2021, Parisi logged an entry entitled "Damned for Eternity" [5] in which she told women that they "should be ashamed" of having children vaccinated against COVID-19 and that it was "criminal".[6] In a different post, Parisi stated that "For me, being socially responsible is one of the most overestimated virtues."[7]
Filmography
editAs an actress
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Grandi magazzini | Dolly | Film debut |
| 1999 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Nick's wife |
As a director and screenwriter
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Blind Maze | None | Debut as a director and screenwriter |
Other appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Luna Park | Herself/ Dancer | Television debut; variety show |
| 1979–1988 | Fantastico | Variety show (seasons 1–5, 8) | |
| 1981 | Stasera niente di nuovo | Variety show | |
| 1983 | Al Paradise | Herself/ Co-host | Variety show (season 1) |
| 1987 | Pronto Topolino? | Herself/ Co-Host/ Dancer | Variety show |
| 1988 | Contigo Televisión Española | Herself/ Co-Host/ Dancer | Variery show |
| 1989 | Telegatto 1989 | Herself/ Co-host | Annual ceremony |
| Un disco per l'estate 1989 | Herself/ Host | Annual music festival | |
| 1989–1990 | Finalmente venerdì | Herself/ Co-host | Variety show |
| 1991 | Stasera mi butto | Talent show (season 2) | |
| 1991–1992 | Ciao Weekend | Variety show | |
| 1993 | VIP 93 Telecinco España | Herself/ Co-Host/ Dancer | Variety show |
| 1993 | Bellezze al bagno | Herself/ Host | Game show (season 5) |
| 1995 | Castrocaro Music Festival | Herself/ Co-host | Annual music festival |
| 1995–1996 | Arriba!!! Arriba!!! | Herself/ Host | Children's program |
| 2002–2003 | Zecchino d'Oro | Talent show (seasons 45–46) | |
| 2003–2004 | Domenica In | Herself/ Co-host | Talk show (season 28) |
| 2004 | Miss Italia 2004 | Herself/ Judge | Annual beauty contest |
| 2005–2006 | Ballando con le Stelle | Talent show (seasons 1–2) | |
| 2016 | Nemicamatissima | Herself/ Host | Variety show |
| 2018 | Amici di Maria De Filippi | Herself/ Judge | Talent show (season 17) |
Discography
edit- Album
- 1981 - Cicale & Company (CGD, CGD 20276)
- 1983 - Ginnastica fantastica (Polydor, 815 721 1)
- 1983 - Il fantastico mondo di Heather Parisi (reprint of Cicale & Company with three new songs)
- 1991 - HP (Mercury, 846 417-1)
- 1991 - Io, Pinocchio (Mercury, 510 738-2)
- Singles
- 1979 - Disco bambina/Blackout (CGD, CGD 10200)
- 1981 - Ti rockerò/Lucky girl (CGD, CGD 10302)
- 1981 - Cicale/Mr. pulce (CGD, CGD 10349)
- 1981 - Quando i grilli cantano (CGD, CGD YD 601) promo juke box
- 1983 - Radiostelle/Alle corde (CGD, CGD 10456)
- 1983 - Ceralacca/Raghjayda (Polydor, 815-750-7)
- 1984 - Crilù/No words (Polydor, 881-420-7)
- 1984 - Ciao ciao/Maschio (Polydor, 821697-7)
- 1985 - Crilù in Bangkok/Morning in Tokyo (Polydor, 881 924-1, 12") (as Angel Program)
- 1986 - Teleblù/Videolips (Polydor, 883-952-7)
- 1987 - Dolceamaro/All'ultimo respiro (Polydor, 887-180-7)
- 1987 - Baby come back/I'm hot (White Records, 109 428)
- 1989 - Faccia a faccia/Feelings come and go (Polydor, 871-572-7)
- 1989 - Livido/Livido (Instrumental Version) (Polydor, 873-192-7)
- 1991 - Pinocchio/Se te ne vai (Polydor, 866 194 7)
References
edit- ^ "Heather Parisi: chi è, età, carriera, curiosità e vita privata". Il Corriere della Città (in Italian). May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Aldo Grasso, Massimo Scaglioni, Enciclopedia della Televisione, Garzanti, Milano, 1996 – 2003. ISBN 881150466X.
- ^ a b Dario Salvatori (August 5, 1989). Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989. ISBN 8876054391.
- ^ "WSM Article". Archived from the original on March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Parisi website/ blog". Archived from the original on March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Parisi website/ blog (direct link)".
- ^ "Parisi posting". Archived from the original on March 17, 2022.
External links
edit- Official website
- Heather Parisi at AllMusic
- Heather Parisi discography at Discogs
- Heather Parisi at IMDb