Biography for
Pia Zadora More at IMDb Pro »

Date of Birth

4 May 1954, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name

Pia Alfreda Schipani

Height

5' (1.52 m)

Spouse

Jonathan Kaufer	(27 August 1995 - 30 November 2001) (divorced) 1 child
Meshulam Riklis	(18 September 1977 - 29 March 1995) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Bought the Pickfair mansion in January 1988, only to have it demolished. The outside gate with the letter P is all that remains of the original home.

Her son's godfather is Don King.

She had a relatively successful singing career. She made pop and traditional vocal albums in the 80s. Her biggest hit in the U.S. was 1983's "The Clapping Song". She earned a Grammy nomination in 1984 with "Rock It Out" (for Female Rock performance) and also scored a worldwide hit with "When the Rain Begins to Fall", a duet with Jermaine Jackson. It was not a hit in the U.S., however. Among her albums: Pia (1982) and Let's Dance Tonight (1984), Pia & Phil (1985), I Am What I Am (1986), Reflections/Today (1988) and When the Lights Go Out (1988) and Pia Z (1989). She also had songs on the soundtracks to her films Butterfly (1982), Fake-Out (1982) and Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1987). She went on to perform in Las Vegas, opening for such pop standard veterans as Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and others.

Won the now defunct best new star of the year Golden Globe despite the fact that she actually made her acting debut eighteen years earlier.

Measurements: 34B/C-21-34 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Children: Jordan Maxwell (13 April 1997) with Jonathan Kaufer; Kady (1 January 1985) and Christopher Barzie (1987) with Meshulam Riklis.

Became the first thespian to "win" back-to-back RAZZIE Awards when she was named Worst Actress of 1982 for Butterfly (1982) and Worst Actress of 1983 for The Lonely Lady (1983) - thus making her the RAZZIE equivalent of Luise Rainer.

Appeared in a Penthouse spread in 1983. The picture for her 1984 "Rock It Out" single was taken from this shoot.

In 1984, her song "Rock It Out" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Among her fellow nominees: Lita Ford, Bonnie Tyler, Wendy O. Williams and eventual winner Tina Turner.

Ex-sister-in-law of Scott Kaufer.

Considered for the role of Evita Peron in Evita (1996).

Played youngest daughter Bielke for two years in "Fiddler on the Roof" on Broadway (1964-1966).

It was during a 1972 bus-and-truck production of "Applause" starring Alexis Smith that was touring in Ohio that Zadora met Meshulam "Rik" Riklis, a 49-year old corporate businessman. She was 17. Four years later they married.

At the time when Zadora became the "ad girl" for the French wine-based aperitif, her first husband was a major shareholder of the American distributor for Dubonnet.

She made her first records in the 1960s, which included "Bye Bye Boy", for which she was billed as "Little Pia".

In 1990 she toured as an opening act for Frank Sinatra.

After remarrying in 1995, she appeared on Broadway in "Crazy For You" to favorable reviews, but during this production she suffered a miscarriage and retired from show business.

For "Rock It Out" she received a Grammy nomination in 1984 for "Best Single By A Female Rock Star.".

Father, Alphonse Schipani, played violin in Broadway pit orchestras, and mother, Saturnina Zadorowski, was a theater wardrobe supervisor.

Attended the American Academy of Dramatic Art while a child as a means of overcoming shyness.

In 1961, the six-year-old was selected by noted screen and stage actor Burgess Meredith to appear in the Broadway production of "Midgie Purvis" starring the one and only Tallulah Bankhead.

Personal Quotes

"I don't know, people say I'm a sex symbol, but I think I'm an actress."

"They never told me about winning all those Razzie Awards -- Maybe because they were afraid that, after reading all the reviews, I might kill myself!" (Quoted from "The E! True Hollywood Story: Pia Zadora")

"They [Hollywood industry] may resent somebody infringing on their territory which is a natural thing. You don't come out of nowhere and win a Golden Globe! If I were a struggling little actress who won, they'd say, 'Oh come on, sweetheart. You won! Great!' and I'd be part of their clique. But no. They don't have that power over me; I'm not at their mercy. That may be what they resent." - on her Golden Globe win

Where Are They Now

(2007) Retired from show business and living at Pickfair in Beverly Hills, California with her ex-husband Meshulam Riklis and her three children.

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