Patrizia Caselli, the Italian actress, television host, and singer who became a well-known figure in the country's entertainment industry, has died at the age of 66. Born in Udine, she had been battling stage-three cancer, a diagnosis she publicly revealed in 2024.
After beginning her career in music and theatre, Caselli rose to prominence on Italian television through popular Rai programmes such as Bella d'estate and Chi tiriamo in ballo?. Her private life also attracted public attention, including her long relationship with actor Walter Chiari and her nine-year partnership with former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, whom she followed to Hammamet until his death in 2000.
Caselli stepped away from show business in 1994 and later married physician Alberto Bossi, with whom she adopted a son, François. Her funeral will be held on June 12 in Milan at the Church of Gesù del Buon Pastore.