Romina Power

From Hollywood Remnants to Cinecittà

Romina Power was born in Los Angeles in 1951, surrounded by spotlights, but grew up amid the ruins of a family broken by her father's premature death. Tyrone Power died while filming in Madrid, and that pushed his daughter toward a Europe that would eventually consume her American identity.

Her mother took her to Mexico and then to Italy. In 1965, she made her film debut in Menage all'italiana at just fourteen years old. The Italian film industry saw in her a blend of American innocence and Mediterranean eroticism, which they exploited without much restraint.

The Hollywood girl was no more.

She made fourteen films before turning eighteen. They were quick productions (many of them musicals) meant to feed a machine that was always looking for fresh faces. In 1969, she starred in Justine by Jesús Franco, and that role, based on the work of the Marquis de Sade, drew the rejection of the most conservative sectors of the Italian press.

The Business of Shared Happiness

In 1967, she met Albano Carrisi during the shoot of Nel sole. Their worlds had nothing in common. He came from the countryside of Apulia, and she from the mansions of California (though those were already somewhat run-down). But the chemistry worked for audiences.

They married in 1970, and film moved into the background. Music became the couple's economic engine over two decades of world tours and hits that played on every radio in Europe. They sold millions of copies of albums that projected an image of a perfect family, which the public bought without asking questions.

And the gamble paid off.

But the disappearance of her daughter Ylenia in New Orleans in 1994 shattered the structure of everything they had built. The grief was not the only problem, as the public handling of the tragedy eventually wore down the marriage. In 1999, they legally divorced, and she decided it was time to reclaim her own name.

Rebuilding on Canvas and Screen

She settled in Arizona for a while to escape the European media spotlight. She began painting regularly and writing books exploring her family tree. In 2005, she returned to film with Go Go Tales by Abel Ferrara (a production that brought her back to international film festivals after years away).

In 2021, Guillermo del Toro called her to appear in Nightmare Alley. It was a small but meaningful cameo because it marked her return to a big-budget Hollywood production. She played a spectator at a carnival show, and her presence was a direct nod to the golden age her father represented decades earlier.

Shortly after, she focused on animal rights advocacy and meditation. In 2024, she still maintains her residence between Italy and the United States. Her fortune is estimated at several million euros, derived from copyright royalties and real estate in southern Italy.