{{Short description|Italian actress, model and television personality (born 1958)}} {{EngvarB|date=January 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}} thumb|Lory Del Santo in 2007 in Milan '''Loredana''' "'''Lory'''" '''Del Santo''' (born 28 September 1958) is an Italian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder.
==Life and career== Born in Povegliano Veronese, Del Santo started her career as a {{ill|valletta (entertainer)|lt=''valletta''|it|Valletta (spettacolo)}} (presenter's assistant) in the 1975 edition of Festivalbar.<ref name=bio>{{cite news|last=Bruno Ventavoli|title=La vendetta sexy della perfida Lory|url=http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/cmsSezioni/societa/200708articoli/24675girata.asp|accessdate=14 February 2012|newspaper=La Stampa|date=13 August 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416034922/http://www1.lastampa.it/redazione/cmsSezioni/societa/200708articoli/24675girata.asp|archivedate=16 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=Grasso>Grasso, Aldo; Scaglioni, Massimo (1996 – 2003). "Del Santo, Loredana detta Lory". ''Enciclopedia della Televisione''. Garzanti, Milano. pp.187-8. {{ISBN|881150466X}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lory Del Santo: "Sembro svampita, ma penso. Clapton era una mummia"|url=http://www.leggo.it/archivio.php?id=153080|accessdate=14 February 2012|newspaper=Leggo|date=12 December 2011}}</ref> In the late-1970s, she got her first film roles, mainly in sexy comedy films,<ref name="Grasso" /><ref name="attr">{{cite book |last1=Lancia |first1=Enrico |last2=Poppi |first2=Roberto |title=Le attrici: dal 1930 ai giorni nostri |date=2003 |publisher=Gremese Editore |isbn=978-88-8440-214-1 |page=104 |language=it |chapter=Del Santo, Lory}}</ref> and in 1980 she represented Italy at the Miss Universe competition.{{cn|date=December 2025}} In the early-1980s, Del Santo became popular thanks to her participation in successful TV shows such as Antonio Ricci's ''Drive In'' and Renzo Arbore's ''Tagli, ritagli e frattaglie''.<ref name=bio/><ref name="Grasso" />
Del Santo was a focus of gossip columns, mainly for her relationship with Eric Clapton (who dedicated the song "Lady of Verona" to her).<ref>{{cite news|title=Clapton's ex reveals lost love song|newspaper=The Times|date=9 July 2006}}</ref> While he was still married to Pattie Boyd, Clapton fathered a son with Lory, Conor, who was born on 21 August 1986. Conor died on 20 March 1991, at the age of four and a half, when he fell out of an open bedroom window on the 53rd floor of the Galleria apartment building in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eric Clapton's Son Killed in a 49-Story Fall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/21/nyregion/eric-clapton-s-son-killed-in-a-49-story-fall.html |access-date=19 June 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=21 March 1991}}</ref> The death of their son was the inspiration for Clapton's songs, "Tears in Heaven" and "Circus".
Starting from early 2000s, Del Santo has taken part in several Italian reality shows, winning the third season of ''L'isola dei famosi''.<ref name=bio/> In 2006, she wrote an autobiography, ''Piacere è una sfida''.<ref name=bio/>
In 2014, she released ''The Lady'' on her YouTube channel, a series known for its amateurish acting.
==Filmography== {{unreferenced section|date=December 2025}} ===Films=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" !scope="col"|Year !scope="col"|Title !scope="col"|Role(s) !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- |1977 |''Ecco noi per esempio'' |Girl at disco |Uncredited |- |rowspan="2"|1978 |''Where Are You Going on Holiday?'' |Luisa |Segment: "Sarò tutta per te" |- |''Geppo il folle'' |Female student |Uncredited |- |rowspan="8"|1979 |''Dear Father'' |Party guest |Cameo appearance |- |''Gardenia'' |Laura | |- |''Where Can You Go Without the Little Vice?'' |Irma | |- |''Passione amore servizio completo'' |Lucy | |- |''Saturday, Sunday and Friday'' |Baby |Segment: "Saturday" |- |''The Great Alligator River'' |Jane | |- |''The Finzi Detective Agency'' |Pierpaola Moser | |- |''A Dangerous Toy'' |Girl at restaurant |Uncredited |- |rowspan="3"|1980 |''I'm Photogenic'' |Loredana | |- |''Desideria'' |Naisse | |- |''Sunday Lovers'' |Lory |Segment: "Roma" |- |rowspan="2"|1981 |''L'onorevole con l'amante sotto il letto'' |Battistoni's waitress | |- |''Bollenti spiriti'' |Lily | |- |rowspan="2"|1982 |''W la foca'' |Andrea | |- |''La gorilla'' |Ruby | |- |1983 |''"FF.SS." – Cioè: "...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?"'' |Herself |Cameo appearance |- |1985 |''La donna giusta'' |Woman in Rome |Uncredited |- |2006 |''Vita Smeralda'' |Herself |Cameo appearance |- |2013 |''The Night Club'' |{{n/a|None}} |Short film; director |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" !scope="col"|Year !scope="col"|Title !scope="col"|Role(s) !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- |1975 |''Festivalbar 1975'' |Herself / Co-host |Annual music festival |- |1980 |''Miss Universe 1980'' |Herself / Contestant |Beauty contest |- |1981 |''Tagli, ritagli e frattaglie'' |Herself / Co-host |Variety show |- |1982 |''Morto Troisi, viva Troisi!'' |Herself |Television film |- |1983–1988 |''Drive In'' |Various |Sketch comedy |- |2000 |''Ciao Darwin'' |Herself / Contestant |Game show (season 3) |- |2005 |rowspan="2"|''L'isola dei famosi'' |Herself / Contestant |Reality show (season 3) |- |rowspan="2"|2006 |Herself / Opinionist |Reality show (season 4) |- |''Saturday Night Live from Milano'' |Herself / Host |Episode: "Lory Del Santo" |- |2009 |''La Fattoria'' |Herself / Contestant |Reality show (season 4) |- |2010–2011 |''Missione seduzione'' |Herself / Host |Docu-reality |- |2014–2015 |''My Bodyguard'' |Herself / Judge |Reality show |- |2014–2017 |''The Lady'' |{{n/a|None}} |Creator, director and writer; 37 episodes |- |2014–2023 |''Pomeriggio Cinque'' |Herself / Opinionist |Talk show |- |2016 |''Pechino Express'' |Herself / Contestant |Reality show (season 5) |- |2017–2021 |''Domenica Live'' |Herself / Opinionist |Talk show |- |2018 |''Grande Fratello VIP'' |Herself / Contestant |Reality show (season 3) |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|0215912}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Santo, Lory}} Category:1958 births Category:20th-century Italian actresses Category:Italian female models Category:Italian film actresses Category:Italian television personalities Category:Living people Category:Miss Universe 1980 contestants Category:Participants in Italian reality television series Category:People from the Province of Verona Category:Actresses from Veneto