Ferrari was born Isabella Fogliazza in
Ponte dell'Olio,
Province of Piacenza,
Emilia-Romagna. At the age of 15, she was elected
Miss Teenager in a contest held in a
discoteque. She made her acting debut at the age of 17 as
Selvaggia in the Carlo Vanzini comedy
Sapore di mare in 1982; she also performed in the film's sequel
Sapore di mare 2- un anno dopo. Since then, she has regularly performed in films, television and the theatre. She is best known to the Italian audience as Police Commissioner Giovanna Scalise, the protagonist in the first two seasons of the police drama series
Distretto di Polizia. At the 1995 Venice Film Festival, Ferrari won a
Volpi Cup for Best Supporting Actress in the
Ettore Scola film
Romanzo di un giovane povero in which she played the part of
Andreina. She was nominated to the
David di Donatello for
Best Supporting Actress in 2006 thanks to her performance in
The Goodbye Kiss and in 2008 for her performance in
Quiet Chaos. In 2021, she was selected as a jury member for the International competition section of the
74th Locarno Film Festival held from 4 to 14 August. In May 2025, she joined the cast of
Bertrand Mandico's upcoming film
Roma elastica. == Personal life ==