Biography
Pia Zadora is an American actress and singer. Born Pia Alfreda Schipani on 4 May 1954 in Hoboken, New Jersey, she began her career as a child performer on Broadway and in regional theatre. Her film debut came at the age of ten as Girmar in the 1964 science-fiction comedy Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
Zadora returned to the screen in the early 1980s. She starred in Butterfly (1981), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Subsequent film roles included appearances in Hairspray (1988) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989), as well as voice work in the television series Frasier (1993).
When her acting career did not progress as hoped, Zadora turned to singing. She released several albums of popular standards, often accompanied by a symphony orchestra, and earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1984.
