Scilla Gabellini was born in Rimini on the Adriatic coast, one of five siblings, and initially pursued a law degree at Oxford University, graduating with a doctorate. However, her interest in a legal career was short-lived, and she soon returned to Italy to study acting at Rome's prestigious Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica.
At the tender age of seventeen, Scilla's striking features and uncanny resemblance to Sophia Loren led to her being cast as a body double for the iconic actress in the classic film Boy on a Dolphin (1957). Two years later, Scilla underwent cosmetic surgery to differentiate herself from her famous doppelganger and establish her own on-screen identity.
Scilla's rise to fame was marked by her appearance on the covers of several prominent magazines, including Playboy, Le Ore, and Parade, in 1963. Throughout the 1960s, she secured leading roles in a diverse range of films, often finding herself typecast in roles that emphasized her physical attributes rather than her acting abilities. Her filmography includes a mix of sex comedies, swashbuckling costume dramas, spaghetti westerns, and peplum spectacles.
As her screen career began to wane, Scilla transitioned to Italian television, landing more challenging and critically acclaimed roles in TV miniseries, a move that marked a significant departure from her earlier work. Eleven years after retiring from the screen, Scilla's life took a dramatic turn when her 87-year-old father, Giuseppe, was brutally murdered by a crazed tenant at his villa in Ladispoli.
