This beautiful light-haired international lead first gained attention as the spirited grandmother in the flashback sequence of the Merchant-Ivory production, "Heat and Dust" (1982). Scacchi (pronounced "Skaa-key") was also memorable as the daffy secretary in Dusan Makavejev's "The Coca Cola Kid" (1985). By the late 1980s, despite such high-profile projects as "White Mischief" (1987) and "Presumed Innocent" (1990), she seemed typecast as a two-dimensional femme fatale. Her career received a renewed critical boost thanks to a standout performance in Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992). Scacchi seemed to excel in several period films, notably "Country Life" (1994), Michael Blakemore's adaptation of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya". She then reteamed with Merchant-Ivory to portray Maria Cosway who entrances the future US president in "Jefferson in Paris" (1995) and segued to Douglas McGrath's adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" (1996).
In 1984, Scacchi stepped into one of Garbo's signature roles, playing the consumptive Marguerite Gauthier in a TV-movie remake of "Camille" (CBS). She appeared as the object of affection of an older Englishman (James Mason) in "Doctor Fischer of Geneva" (BBC, 1984; PBS, 1985) and was one of two nubile young woman living with an elderly artist (Laurence Olivier) in "The Ebony Tower" (BBC, 1986; PBS, 1987). For her performance as the Czarina Alexandra in "Rasputin" (HBO, 1996), Scacchi won a Supporting Actress Emmy. She followed with a turn as Penelope, the patient wife of Odysseus, in the NBC miniseries "The Odyssey" (1997).
- Also Credited As:
Greta Gracco
- Born:
February 18, 1960 in Milan, Italy
-
Job Titles:
Actor, Model, Shepherdess
Family
-
Daughter: Leila George D Onofrio. born in March 1992; father, Vincent D Onofrio
-
Father: Luca Scacchi Gracco. Italian; separated from Scacchi s mother when Scacchi was three; later divorced
-
Mother: Pamela Carsinga. English; separated from Scacchi s father when Scacchi was three; later divorced; remarried
-
Son: Matteo Mantegazza. born c. September 1998
-
Step-father: Giovanni Carsinga.
Significant Others
-
Companion: Carlo Mantegazza. Italian; Scacchi s first cousin; lived with him and his former wife; together from c. 1997
-
Companion: Vincent D Onofrio. met while filming Fires Within (1991); father of daughter Leila George D Onofrio; together from c. 1990 to 1992
Education
-
University of Western Australia, Australia
-
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, England
Milestones
-
1963 Moved to England with her mother when parents separated (date approximate)
-
1975 Moved to Australia when stepfather accepted a teaching job (date approximate)
-
1982 International breakthrough role in the Merchant-Ivory production Heat and Dust
-
1984 Played leading role in the CBS TV-movie remake of Camille
-
1988 Had leading role in White Mischief
-
1990 Cast opposite Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent
-
1992 Played pivotal role in Robert Altman s The Player
-
1995 Co-starred as Czarina Alexandra in the HBO TV-movie Rasputin ; won Supporting Actress Emmy Award
-
1995 Reteamed with Merchant-Ivory for Jefferson in Paris
-
1997 Co-starred in NBC miniseries The Odyssey
-
1999 Reteamed with Merchant-Ivory for the period drama Cotton Mary , directed by Ismail Merchant
-
2002 Starred on stage in England in The True Life History of Mata Hari ; play especially written for her
-
2004 Portrayed Sandra Dee s (Kate Bosworth) mother in Beyond the Sea a biopic of the legendary signer Bobby Darin
-
2006 Earned SAG and Emmy nominations for Best Actress for her role in the American Movie Classic s original movie Broken Trail
-
Born in Milan
-
Moved to England and enrolled in acting school
-
Moved to Europe; began brief career as a model
-
Screen debut in The Second Sight (German-language film)
-
Worked as jilleroo (sheep rustler) in Australia before moving to Europe