Zaira Zoccheddu

Zaira Zoccheddu is an Italian actress who emerged from Sardinia to establish herself in Italian genre cinema during the 1970s and 1980s. Growing up in Sardinia, she gained initial recognition when she represented Italy at the Miss World competition in 1974, which provided her entry into the entertainment industry. Following her pageant experience, Zoccheddu transitioned into film acting during the mid-1970s, quickly establishing a presence in the Italian exploitation and genre film circuit. Her early career included appearances in crime thrillers and comedies such as "Roma a mano armata" (1976), "Il secondo tragico Fantozzi" (1976), and "Inhibition" (1976). As her career progressed, she became associated with the erotic drama and horror productions that characterized much of Italian genre cinema during this period, appearing in films like "Kaput Lager - Gli ultimi giorni delle SS" (1977), "L'Italia in pigiama" (1977), and "Achtung! The Desert Tigers" (1977). Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Zoccheddu continued to work steadily in exploitation cinema, including appearances in "Escape from Hell" (1980) and other productions that often featured adult themes and content typical of the era's Italian B-movies. Her career extended into the mid-1980s with roles in "Nothing Underneath" (1985) directed by Carlo Vanzina and "Savage Island" (1985), before concluding with her final notable screen appearance in the horror film "Cross of the Seven Jewels" (1987), where she played the character Madame Amnesia. Spanning roughly a decade of active film work, Zoccheddu's screen career coincided with a prolific period in Italian genre filmmaking, and she became recognized as a distinctive figure within the specialized realm of Italian erotic horror and thriller productions that defined much of the country's exploitation cinema during the 1970s and 1980s.