Zeudi Araya, icon of Italian erotic cinema of the Seventies, has died

The actress and producer Zeudi Araya, born in Eritrea but established herself in Italy as the protagonist of erotic films of the 70s, has died in her home in Rome at the age of 75. She had been ill for some time. In 1983 she married the producer Franco Cristaldi, who died nine years later of a heart attack, but she had a new partner, the director Massimo Spano with whom she had a son, Michelangelo, who broke the news of her death by expressing “gratitude to those who were close to her with affection and discretion”. The funeral will take place privately in the next few days.

From its origins in Eritrea to success in Italian cinema

Zeudi Araya, whose name means ‘imperial crown’ in the Tigrinya language, was the daughter of a politician and granddaughter of an Ethiopian ambassador to Rome. A trip to Italy projected her into the world of entertainment thanks to the television advertisement for Caffè Tazza d’Oro in 1972: she was noticed by the director Luigi Scattini and cast in the main role in his film ‘The Girl with the Moon’s Skin’ which was followed by other erotic films.

Among his films are ‘Mr. Robinson, a monstrous story of love and adventure’ with Paolo Villaggio, in which he played ‘Venerdì’, ‘Napoletano Giallo’ with Marcello Mastroianni and ‘Tesoromio’ with Johnny Dorelli and Renato Pozzetto.

The second life as a producer and custodian of cinema

At the beginning of the 90s she retired from the cinema scene but, after the loss of her husband Cristaldi, she became interested in the film production of various films for cinema and television. In 2018 she presented with Giuseppe Tornatore the restored 4K version of the film ‘Divorce Italian Style’, produced at the time by her first husband.

The condolences of the institutions

“An actress leaves us who represented a season of popular Italian cinema”, undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni recalled her in a note, “Zeudi Araya contributed to the success of works belonging to the erotic genre, which represented one of the cinematographic phenomena of the Seventies. A diva capable of reinventing herself as a producer and custodian of a precious memory, she crossed decades of the history of our screen, leaving a mark that goes far beyond the legend of the ‘sex symbol'”.