Gloria Guida was born on 19 November 1955, in
Merano, to a family from
Emilia-Romagna. She moved with her family to
Bologna as a child. She first began a singing career, starting in her father's dancing place on the
Romagna coast. Then she took up modeling, becoming
Miss Teenage Italia in 1974. Guida subsequently went on to star in many sexy comedies. Two of her early films,
La ragazzina (
Monika in English-language release) and
La minorenne, both shot in the summer of 1974, are stories of young female characters discovering their sexuality. She made her real breakthrough in 1975 with
La liceale (
The Teasers). Another film of particular success was ''
Avere vent'anni'' ("To Be Twenty") in 1978, where she starred with
Lilli Carati. She considers herself Roman Catholic. ==Selected filmography==