Nicoletta Machiavelli

Nicoletta Machiavelli (August 1, 1944 – November 15, 2015), also recognized as Nicoletta Rangoni Machiavelli or Nicoletta Macchiavelli, was a prominent Italian actress celebrated for her work in film. Born to a Florentine father and an American mother, she was a direct descendant of the renowned philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Her journey in the film industry began when she auditioned for the role of Eva in John Huston's epic, The Bible: In the Beginning..., where she caught the attention of producer Dino De Laurentiis. This led to a seven-year contract with him, although she chose to leave after three years. Nicoletta made her debut in cinema as the wife of Ugo Tognazzi in the film A Question of Honour. Initially, her career flourished in comedies and genre films, particularly in Spaghetti Westerns, including notable works like Sergio Corbucci's Navajo Joe.

As the late 1960s approached, Machiavelli transitioned to more artistic films, collaborating with esteemed directors such as Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, Pietro Germi, Dino Risi, Sergio Citti, Andrzej Żuławski, and Liliana Cavani. In 1984, she embraced a spiritual path as a disciple of Osho, leading to her retirement from acting. Eventually, she settled in Seattle, Washington, where she passed away from an undisclosed illness on November 15, 2015, at the age of 71.