- Bella Cortez in a publicity shot for I tartari (1961)
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- Bella Cortez in a publicity shot for Le sette sfide (1961)
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- Bella Cortez in a publicity shot
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She was born Alicia Paneque on December 16th 1942 in Oriente, Cuba.[1]
In 1959, at the age of 17, she was working in the Palace Hotel in Havana, where she was spotted by Italian film producers Renato Spera and Conte Vassilli, who invited her to come to Italy to appear in films. With the revolution underway in Cuba, her father signed the necessary papers and she left for Rome. Once there she rejected a pass by Spera and sought refuge at the Cuban embassy, where she met a girl who was a singer. Her friend took her one day to the De Paolis studios, where she was spotted by producer and director Emimmo Salvi.[2]
Changing her name to "Bella Cortez", Salvi immediately cast her in I tartari, which was ready to begin shooting. Bella became involved both professionally and romantically with Salvi, who would guide her career, casting her in a succession of peplum films over the next 3 years. The relationship with Salvi turned sour when he became the subject of a scandal and was taken to court with four hundred million lire in debts, meaning he was unable to pay Bella for her work. Bella made several more films in other genres, which are sadly impossible to find copies of today.
While filming Appuntamento a Dallas in 1964, Bella met French soundtrack composer and musician Robert Poitevin, whom she would marry. She made the choice to retire from films to devote herself to her marriage and family.
Now resident in Florida, Bella is a writer who has published three books of collections of love tales and her autobiography, The Diary of a Soul, which is available in Italian, English (from Amazon US) and Spanish. She maintains an active presence on Facebook, where she has been a Facebook friend and member of my peplum group for a number of years - I am always impressed that she takes the time to send me a personalised birthday greeting every year.
Filmography
- I tartari .... Samia (credited)
- Il gigante di Metropolis .... Medena (credited)
- Le sette sfide .... Suani (credited)
1962 - Le 7 fatiche di Alì Babà .... Lota (credited)
- Vulcano, figlio di Giove .... Etna (credited)
1963 - Sfida al diavolo .... Free (credited)
- Taur, il re della forza bruta .... Queen Akiba (credited)
1964 - Appuntamento a Dallas .... role unknown (poster credit)
- FBI chiama Istanbul .... Manuela (poster credit - role unconfirmed)
- Simbad contro i sette saraceni .... Fatima (credited)
1966 - Giorno caldo al Paradiso Show .... role unknown (poster credit)
| 1. Confirmed by Bella herself. She has read this biography and confirmed all details to be correct. 2. The bulk of Bella's biographical details come from a 2020 Spanish language interview with José Luis Salvador Estébenez on the La Arbana de Berzano website, which deals specifically with her film career. |