Life and career
Cuccarini was born in Rome. At nine years old, she started to attend the dance school of Enzo Paolo Turchi [ it ] (choreographer and husband of Carmen Russo). [1]
1982–1985: Television debut with Fantastico and dancing career
After some experiences as a chorus girl, Lorella Cuccarini made her television debut at nineteen years old as a member of the dance crew on Te lo do io il Brasile, which aired on Rete 4. She later gained national recognition in the variety show Fantastico, hosted by Pippo Baudo, in which Cuccarini served as a dancer and performer during the sketches. In the same years she also worked as a dancer on other successful Italian variety and games shows such as Il tastomatto and Sponsor City.
1986–1990: Music breakthrough with Lorel and successful singles
In 1986, Lorella Cuccarini released her debut studio album Lorel under Polydor Records. A pop and italo disco album, the record was promoted by the smash-hits "Sugar Sugar", "Kangarù" and "Tutto matto", which debuted on top-ten on the Italian singles charts and were promoted during some Fantastico performances. In 1987, the singer won the Premio Regia Televisiva as the "Female personality of the Year" and opened the German leg of Adriano Celentano's I miei americani... 2 Tour. From September 1987 to January 1988, Cuccarini co-hosted Festival, a variety show created by Pippo Baudo which aired on Canale 5. She also served as a co-host in other shows including Odiens, Ciak 88 and Vota la voce. In 1989, Lorella Cuccarini made her music comeback with the single "La notte vola", which reached number 4 on the Italian singles charts and was certified platinum by FIMI. To date "La notte vola" is considered Cuccarini's signature song, with many artists taking inspiration and paying homage to it. The song was also re-recorded in English and Spanish language and entered the charts in Germany and Spain.
1991–1994: the album Voci and career as a presenter
From 1990 to 2001, Cuccarini hosted the sketch comedy show Paperissima alongside Marco Columbro and Ezio Greggio. She presented it for seven non-consecutive seasons being replaced by Marisa Laurito for the 1993 edition. In 1992, the singer made her acting debut on Piazza di Spagna , a Canale 5 comedy-drama miniseries in which she was cast as the titular character. She also hosted Buona Domenica, a Sunday entertainment program for two seasons with Marco Columbro on Canale 5. [1] [2] In 1993, Cuccarini was chosen as the co-host of the Sanremo Music Festival 1993 , presented by Pippo Baudo. For her performance at the Sanremo festival, she won her second Premio Regia Televisiva as the "Female personality of the Year". In the same year, the singer-turned-presenter released her second studio album Voci, promoted by its lead single "Liberi liberi", presented during a Buona Domenica special.
1995–1996: First Sanremo festival as a contestant ad the album Voglia di fare
In 1995, Lorella Cuccarini was announced as one of the contestants of the Sanremo Music Festival 1995 . The singer competed with the song "Un altro amore no" and placed tenth in the final night's rank. The song was later released as the lead single from Cuccarini's third studio album Voglia di fare. This marks Cuccarini's final solo studio release: since the following year she will focus on television hosting activities. [1] [3]
1997–2004: Theatre debut and continued hosting
In 1997, Lorella Cuccarini was cast as Sandy in the first Italian adaptation of the musical Grease . Cuccarini's performance was well received by the critics and audience. In the same year, the soundtrack album Grease - Il musical was released by Triangle Productions with Cuccarini singing the Italian version of the original songs. In 1998, Cuccarini made a cameo appearance in Jonathan Frakes's Star Trek: Insurrection . Originally, the role offered to her was pretty much bigger but was later cut in a smaller appearance. In 1999, the singer presented the dance-based talent show Campioni di ballo, which aired on Canale 5. From 2000 to 2003, Cuccarini hosted a variety of Canale 5 shows such as La notte vola, Uno di noi and Scommettiamo che…?. In 2003, she attended as a member of the jury during the Sanremo Music Festival 2003 and hosted the annual ceremony of the David di Donatello. The following year she was cast as Giovanna in the Rai 2 drama series Amiche alongside Barbara De Rossi and Claudia Koll.
From 2005 to 2007, Lorella Cuccarini took the role of Charity in Charity: The Musical with Cesare Bocci as the co-lead protagonist. The following year she was cast as Francesca in the second season of Lo zio d'America , a Rai 1 comedy series starring Christian De Sica. For the following years, Cuccarini did not take the hosting role for any Rai or Mediaset program due to poor ratings of her previous shows. In 2008, however, she hosted the TV Sorrisi e Canzoni gala at the Roma Fiction Fest. In 2009, Lorella Cuccarini voiced Lissi in the German animated film Lissi und der wilde Kaiser and returned to television hosting with the revival-variety program È nata una stella gemella. In 2010, Cuccarini made a standalone performance during the Sanremo Music Festival 2010 , with choreographies by Luca Tommassini. The performance was viewed by 16 millions of televiewers and served as an inspiration for the Beyoncé's Billboard Music Awards performance. [4] [5]
2011–2015: Television activities and Rapunzel: The Musical
From 2010 to 2013, Lorella Cuccarini hosted the Sunday-special talk show Domenica in , alongside Massimo Giletti and Sonia Grey. In 2011, Cuccarini serves as a judge on Star Academy , a music talent show based on the Spanish reality of the same name. In the same year, she was honored as Commendatore della Repubblica. In 2012, Lorella Cuccarini made her radio debut, hosting her first radio talk show Citofonare Cuccarini on Rai Radio 1. In the same year she was also judge during the annual beauty contest Miss Italia . From 2014 to 2016 she returned to stage acting playing Mother Gothel, the main antagonist, in Rapunzel: The Musical. The show ran at Teatro Brancaccio in Rome for the 2014-2015 season, receiving widespread acclaim. For the 2015-2016 season the show embarked a national tour. In 2015, Lorella Cuccarini appeared as a guest judge during the final stage of Amici di Maria De Filippi and was announced as one of the regular judges of Forte forte forte, a talent show created by Raffaella Carrà. However, her involvement was later scrapped and Cuccarini was replaced with Asia Argento.
2016–2019: Nemicamatissima
From October to November 2015, Lorella Cuccarini served as a judge on the singing competition Ti lascio una canzone , hosted by Antonella Clerici. In 2016, Cuccarini hosted and produced the two-night variety event Nemicamatissima , alongside her Fantastico co-star Heather Parisi. The show was intended as a revival of the 80s and 90s Italian variety shows in which both Cuccarini and Parisi performed. For the program, Cuccarini recorded a soundtrack album of the same that was released on January 2017 and promoted by the single "Tanto tempo ancora", with featured vocals by Parisi. In 2018, Lorella Cuccarini became a Conad ambassador and testimonial, and returned to television acting in the second season of the Canale 5 drama series L'isola di Pietro. In 2019, she hosted La vita in diretta , a daily talk show with Alberto Matano. Cuccarini took the role for one season only being removed the following year due to conflicts with her co-host Matano.
2020–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi and music comeback
In 2020, Lorella Cuccarini was announced as one of the new dance teachers of the twentieth season of Amici di Maria De Filippi . She took that role for the 2020-2021 season and switched the following year as a teacher in the singing category. During the program, Cuccarini followed the personal and artistic progression of a variety of aspiring artists such as dancer Alessandro Cavallo and singers Alex Wyse, Angelina Mango and Sarah Toscano. In 2021, Lorella Cuccarini collaborated with the Italian EDM group Il Pagante for the Christmas single "Un pacco per te", which entered the Italian singles charts at number 81. In 2022, Cuccarini guest hosted Striscia la notizia for a 4-episodes-arc alongside Gerry Scotti and reprised her role as Mother Gothel in the revival show of Rapunzel: The Musical. In 2023, Lorella Cuccarini was announced as one of the guest artist of the duets night at the Sanremo Music Festival 2023 . Cuccarini performed a remixed version of her 1989 smash hit "La notte vola" with Olly. The duet remix was later recorded in studio and released as the fifth single from Olly's debut studio album Gira, il mondo gira. In 2024, Lorella Cuccarini returned as a co-host during the fourth night at Sanremo Music Festival 2024 , presented by Amadeus.
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