# Moira Orfei

Moira Orfei (Italian pronunciation:; born Miranda Orfei; 21 December 1931 – 15 November 2015) was an Italian circus performer, actress and television personality of remote Romani origins. Moira was also considered the queen of the Italian circus, one stage name being "Moira of the Elephants". Cult movie fans know her for the many sword-and-sandal (peplum) films she starred in.

## Biography

Raised in a family who owned the circus company Circus Orfei, Moira became the symbol of circus in Italy and attained international fame. The Circus Moira Orfei itself was founded in 1960. She was photographed in various scenes as a rider, trapeze artist, acrobat, dominatrice of elephants and trainer of doves.
Her excessively garish image mirrors her eccentric and exuberant personality. It was Dino De Laurentiis who suggested that she change her name from Miranda to Moira. From then on, her 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. She also became a film actress, acting in over forty films, from comedies to sword-and-sandal films (among which were many Italian crime films).

## Personal life

Her parents were Riccardo Orfei, who was the clown Bigolon, and Violetta Arata. She married Walter Nones in 1961, and they had two children Stefano Orfei and Lara Orfei.

## Death

On 4 August 2006, Moira Orfei suffered an ischemic stroke during a show in Gioiosa Ionica. The artist was still under medical care when she died nine years later from natural causes on 15 November 2015 in Brescia, Italy.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1960 | The Loves of Hercules | Nemea | |
| 1960 | Under Ten Flags | Shipwrecked | Cameo appearance |
| 1960 | Ti aspetterò all'inferno | Anouk | |
| 1960 | Queen of the Pirates | Jana | |
| 1960 | The Giants of Thessaly | Atalanta | Cameo appearance |
| 1961 | Ursus | Attea | |
| 1961 | Revenge of the Conquered | Edma | |
| 1961 | Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules | Halis Mosab | |
| 1961 | Rocco e le sorelle | Lola | |
| 1961 | Armi contro la legge | Norma | |
| 1961 | Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops | Paesant girl | Cameo appearance |
| 1961 | Che femmina e… che dollari! | Moira | |
| 1962 | Kerim, Son of the Sheik | Zaira | |
| 1962 | Il re Manfredi | Grenda | |
| 1962 | I tromboni di Fra' Diavolo | Carmela | |
| 1962 | Ursus in the Valley of the Lions | Diar | |
| 1962 | Gli italiani e le donne | Claudia Caracci | Segment: "L'abito non fa il monaco" |
| 1963 | I due mafiosi | Claudette | |
| 1963 | Toto vs. the Four | Mrs. Fiore | Scenes cut |
| 1963 | Toto and Cleopatra | Octavia the Younger | |
| 1963 | Samson and the Slave Queen | Malva | |
| 1963 | Divorzio alla siciliana | Marisa | |
| 1963 | The Monk of Monza | Sister Virginia | |
| 1963 | The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules | Ura | |
| 1964 | The Two Gladiators | Marzia | |
| 1964 | I predoni della steppa | Malina | |
| 1964 | Revolt of the Praetorians | Artamne | |
| 1964 | Samson and His Mighty Challenge | Dalila | |
| 1964 | The Triumph of Hercules | Pasiphae | |
| 1965 | Casanova 70 | Santina | |
| 1965 | How We Got into Trouble with the Army | Taide Bonafini | |
| 1965 | L'incendio di Roma | Poppaeia | |
| 1965 | Two Sergeants of General Custer | Baby O'Connor | |
| 1966 | Due mafiosi contro Al Capone | Rosalía | |
| 1966 | The Birds, the Bees and the Italians | Giorgia Casellato | |
| 1968 | Torture Me But Kill Me with Kisses | Adelaide | |
| 1974 | Paolo il freddo | Herself | Cameo appearance |
| 1974 | Scent of a Woman | Mirka | |
| 1975 | Dracula in the Provinces | Bestia Assatanata | |
| 1980 | Arrivano i bersaglieri | Herself | Cameo appearance |
| 1982 | Pin il monello | Herself | Cameo appearance |
| 1990 | Vacanze di Natale '90 | Gloria | |
| 2003 | Natale in India | Herself | Cameo appearance |
| 2006 | Moira Orfei: Amore e fiori | Herself | Documentary |