Actress and producer Zeudi Araya dies after a long illness
She was born in Eritrea, in Decameré, on 10 February 1951. Her son's announcement
Zeudi Araya, actress and film producer, has died. Her son, Michelangelo Spano, announced this, explaining that 'she passed away on Sunday 24 May at her home following a long illness. In this moment of great sadness, the family wishes to express its gratitude to all those who were close to her with affection and discretion. The funeral will take place over the next few days in a strictly private manner. The family thanks them for their understanding and asks that their confidentiality be respected at this time of mourning.
She was born in Eritrea, in Decamerè, on 10 February 1951, and passed away at the age of 75. Daughter of a politician and granddaughter of a diplomat, she was already Miss Eritrea at just 18 years of age immediately after graduating in 1969. Then a trip to Rome to shoot a coffee commercial, thanks to her exotic air, opened the doors of the cinema to her. She became the favourite protagonist of the erotic films that were so popular in the early 1970s, starting with La ragazza dalle pelle di luna by Luigi Scattini, later director of most of his films.
In 1983 she married producer Franco Cristaldi, he was 50, she was 31, at his villa a few kilometres from Volterra, witnessed by Monica Vitti and Francesco Rosi. Cristaldi died just nine years later, stricken by a heart attack, and from that moment she took the road of film production, after having been the protagonist of fortunate popular cinema films, from Il signor Robinson, a monstrous story of love and adventure, with Paolo Villaggio where she played the role of Venerdì, Giallo napoletano, together with Marcello Mastroianni, and Tesoromio, with Johnny Dorelli, Sandra Milo and Renato Pozzetto.
Always very reserved, she rarely appeared, and only once allowed herself to be interviewed on Luttazzi's Satyricon then in 2015 for Cristina Parodi on La vita in diretta. Very active as a producer for film and TV, she had a new partner, director Massimo Spano by whom she had a son, Michelangelo, born in 1996.
