Italy mourns Moira Orfei, the Queen of the Italian Circus
Moira Orfei was born in 1931

Moira Orfei was born in 1931 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and participated in the family’s circus act, before founding her owncircus queen wearing turban company in 1960, called The Circus Moira Orfei.  

Her performances included her work as a trapeze artist, trainer of doves, and an elephant tamer, which make for a fairly impressive resume. It was Dino De Laurentiis who suggested that she change her name from Miranda to Moira.

From then on, Moira’s face became an effigy of unchanging characteristics: heavy make-up with eyes coated with eyeliner, bright lipstick, an accentuated mole above the lip, hair tied in a turban. Promotional billboards were carpeted with this picture in every city that the circus stopped. As a result, Moira has become one of the most recognized faces in Italy.

 
Moira also became a film actress, acting in over forty films, from comedies to Sword and sandal films (among which many Italian crime films). 
 
She died in Brescia November 15 after she had an Ischemic stroke during a show in Gioiosa Ionica in 2006.

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