Olivia Dafi
Olivia Dafi | |
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_-_3.jpg) Olivia Dafi in 1919 | |
| Born | Órlaith Nic Dubhthaigh Ní Méalóid 20 October 1894 |
| Died | 10 September 1975 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1916–1959 |
Órlaith Nic Dubhthaigh Ní Méalóid (Gylic transcription: Orla Niduþai Nimalod; 20 October 1894 – 10 September 1975), known by her stage name Olivia Dafi, was an Ossorian–Gylian actress and model. She was one of the first iconic film stars of Alscia, and is remembered for her portrayal of brash tomboys and flappers, making her an icon of the "hurried province".
Early life
Órlaith Nic Dubhthaigh Ní Méalóid was born in Ardliss on 20 October 1894. She was the eldest of three children, and had two younger brothers, who later worked in the film industry alongside her.
Both her parents were factory workers; her father died in a work-related accident in 1906. The family later moved to Alscia, where she worked in a department store to help support her siblings.
Career
While working in a department store, she entered and won a local beauty contest, beginning a career as an artist's model. She posed for several famed Alscian artists and photographers, and her image was featured on many magazine covers. She was the subject of a famous nude portrait by Tamara Łempicka in 1920, which showed her clutching a rose and squeezing her left breast.
She chose the stage name "Olivia Dafi", based on her forename and lineage name. She later joked in an interview with Margherita Martini, "I didn't want to scare the poor dears with my full name." She began working as a stage actress, which subsequently led to a cinema career. She made her debut in a full-length film in 1917.
Olivia quickly discovered the niche that brought her fame, specialising in musical comedies and portraying charismatic, brash tomboys and flappers. Her roles made her a symbol of the "hurried province" and its feminism, earning scholarly analysis in publications like Risveglio Nazionale. She always wore men's suits and hats in her roles, epitomising Alscia's androgyny chic. Maria Caracciolo once described one of her characters as "a perfect gentleman of a lady" — an appellation that stuck, and an image she maintained enthusiastically.
Although initially apprehensive about the arrival of sound film, her Ossorian Gaelic-accented pronunciation of Italian and French added another dimension to her appeal. She appeared frequently in telefoni bianchi films, and her pairings with co-star Doris Duranti proved especially popular, resulting in several successful films as a double act. Although Olivia was 23 years older in reality, Doris usually played the "older and wiser" characters.
Like virtually all Alscian artists, she was a member of the Anarchofuturist Association of Alscia.
Later life and death
Olivia remained in the Free Territories after Alscia voted to join them in 1939. She continued acting, although her pace gradually lessened. Although her stardom faded, she was still held in high regard, and was included in the honoured citizens list.
She largely stopped acting in 1959, and subsequently lived in quiet retirement in Mişeyáke, before dying of natural causes on 10 September 1975.
Private life
Olivia practiced Págánacht, worshipping Beira in particular due to her occupation, and later in life became an initiate at a local Ossorian temple in Gylias, although she never took vows. She was married, and had no children, although the couple adopted one of their nephews after his mother died.
She avoided involvement in politics, but had conservative sympathies, supporting the Party of Freedom in Alscia, the Crown Nationalist Party in Ossoria, and the National Bloc in Gylias.