Orchidea De Santis

Of Salento origins but born in Bari due to her father's work as an officer in the Navy, she moved with her family, who ran a hotel in the capital of Puglia, first to Gallipoli and then to Rome, following her sister who was sixteen years older. At the beginning she was also a singer and, later, a theater actress. She has ranged from cinema to radio, from theater to music, until arriving on television. From 2006 to 2013 she managed a blog. She collaborates with various animal rights and environmental associations.

Active especially in the Seventies, she was an interpreter of the Italian sexy comedy, initially mainly in costume and with a Boccaccian setting. Her presence in Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno is curious, a film in which, for script needs, she was made up to appear ugly.

In 1979, her film career came to an abrupt end following a serious injury on the set of Carlo Vanzina's film Arrivano i gatti when, due to an accidental fall into a trap door, she broke her elbow (which was later completely surgically reconstructed), risking permanent damage to her entire arm.