Ottavia Piccolo

Ottavia Piccolo (born 9 October 1949) is an Italian actress.^[1]

Biography

Born in Bolzano, Piccolo began her acting debut in the stage adaption ofThe Miracle Worker at the age of 11 under the direction ofLuigi Squarzina.^[2] She has also appeared in 45 films since 1962, making her debut film appearance in the 1963 filmThe Leopard. In 1964, she metGiorgio Strehler who directed the stage adaptations ofBrawling in Chioggia andKing Lear, both of which she appeared in. In 1970, she won the award forBest Actress at the1970 Cannes Film Festival for the filmMetello.^[3]

In addition to working inItalian cinema, Piccolo has also has some rare success inFrench cinema.^[4] She made her debut in the 1971 filmThe Widow Couderc directed byPierre Granier-Deferre. Two years later, she appeared inThe Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot directed byNina Companeez. She also appeared in several French television shows throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Piccolo returned to Italian television with the seriesChiara e gli altri in which she portrayed Livia Malfatti. The show lasted only two seasons.^[5]

Piccolo has a rare career as a voice actress. She is internationally known for providing the Italian voice ofPrincess Leia Organa (portrayed byCarrie Fisher) in theStar Wars franchise.^[6] She was the only main cast member of the Italian dubbing of theoriginal trilogy to reprise her character in thesequel trilogy asStefano Satta Flores andClaudio Capone both died before the release of the sequel trilogy.