Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, an Italian-American artist born in New York, is a highly regarded actress and multimedia creator known for an eclectic and distinguished career that has led her to collaborate with some of the most renowned European directors.

Born into a family of opera professionals, she made her stage debut at the age of three and a half in the theater company directed by her father. Under his direction, she continued her stage work in prestigious settings, including the Baths of Caracalla and Castel Sant'Angelo.

As a child, she moved with her family to Rome, where she lived for several years. While still very young, she landed her first leading role in the drama In Cerca d'Amore by Aida Mangia and Massimo Russo (which won a Silver Plaque at the Giffoni Film Festival), produced for RAI as part of the program Passione Mia, hosted by Monica Vitti.

Cataldi-Tassoni soon caught the attention of legendary director Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava, who cast her as Sally, the protagonist of Demons 2, directed by Bava and produced by Argento himself. During the same period, she also participated in the cult film Opera, directed by Argento, and assisted the director in hosting a segment dedicated to film and entertainment within Giallo, a live prime-time RAI 2 program hosted by Enzo Tortora.

In the following years, her collaboration with Argento continued with other iconic titles, including
The Phantom of the Opera and The Mother of Tears, cementing her professional bond with one of the undisputed masters of Italian horror cinema.

During the filming of Opera, Argento, aware of Cataldi-Tassoni’s experience as an assistant director and impressed by her dedication on set, asked her to join him as an assistant director on days when she was not acting. This experience further strengthened their professional relationship.

At the same time, she also distinguished herself in numerous Italian productions, including The Nun of Monza and Via Paradiso by Luciano Odorisio, as well as the short film Dubbing Italian Style by Andrea Manni, produced by Domenico Procacci. These experiences enriched her artistic path, highlighting her versatility.

Thanks to a prestigious scholarship, Cataldi-Tassoni returned to the United States and moved to Chicago to continue her training at The Second City, the famous international center for comedy and improvisation that trained iconic figures such as John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, and Tina Fey.

In Chicago, she returned to the stage, performing in musical comedies and concerts, while continuing her film career with cameo appearances in films such as L’Amico d’Infanzia by Pupi Avati and La Stanza Accanto by Fabrizio Laurenti.

After recording her first album, Limbo Balloon, she returned to her native New York. In the following years, she brought her music to numerous venues across the United States and Canada, performing in prestigious spaces such as Webster Hall in New York and Club Soda in Montreal. She was also frequently invited to perform as a guest with Goblin, the legendary band known for the unforgettable soundtracks of films such as Deep Red and Suspiria.

She returned to work with Lamberto Bava on the film Ghost Son, shot in South Africa. Subsequently, she was directed by Claudio and Simona Simonetti in the short film The Dirt,  for which she received the Best Actress award at the Fright Nights Film Festival in Austria. The film also won a Special Award at the Fantafestival in Rome.

In the romantic film Baggage Claim, she plays an opera singer alongside the legendary Tom Savini. The film was written by renowned film historian Tim Lucas and co-written and directed by Golden Globe winner Irene Miracle (Midnight Express).

Parallel to her film and music career, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni has also begun to establish herself as a painter, participating in both solo and group exhibitions. Her art has garnered the admiration of prominent figures in cinema; the late award-winning director Alessandro D'Alatri once stated: "I love her art, in fact, I venerate it. I own one of her paintings, and the vision and talent she possesses are dazzling."

Together with director and multimedia artist Mariano Baino (Dark Waters, Caruncula), she founded the production company Astrid’s Saints LLC in New York, created with the intent to develop independent, artistically free, and highly auteur-driven works.

The first project produced by the new company was Lady M 5.1, an adaptation of the famous Act I, Scene V from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Cataldi-Tassoni stars as Lady Macbeth and also created the original music. For this intense performance, she received the Award of Excellence for Best Lead Actress at the Best Shorts Competition. Lady M 5.1 debuted in the United States at MANA Contemporary, one of the most authoritative contemporary art spaces internationally, and had its European premiere at MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome.

She stars in A Moving Read, a dystopian science fiction film directed by Baino and shot in Naples. She created the original music and also served as a co-producer. The work debuted in Europe at the Fantafestival, where she was awarded the prestigious Silver Bat (Pipistrello d’Argento) for her career.

She played the lead role in Astrid’s Saints, a feature film written and produced alongside Baino, for which she also composed the soundtrack. Her intense performance marked a new milestone in the actress’s artistic path. The film premiered worldwide at L'Étrange Festival in Paris in September 2024 and, in October 2025, competed in the "Noves Visions" section of the prestigious Sitges International Film Festival.

In October 2025, Cataldi-Tassoni was invited by the Senigallia Film Festival to serve as the godmother of the 12th edition, where she received the Masters of Cinematic Art Award (Premio Maestri d’Arte Cinematografica). That same year, at the 8th edition of the Monsters Fantastic Film Festival in Taranto, she was awarded the Masters of the Fantastic Award (Premio Maestri del Fantastico) alongside director Lamberto Bava, a recognition celebrating her distinctive contribution to genre cinema and the Italian film landscape.

Her artistic career has been celebrated in numerous publications and chronicled in the book Coralina: Life is Art / Art is Life, edited by journalist Filippo Brunamonti (La Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore, Huffington Post). To accompany the book's release, she co-directed the short film Coralina: Based on a True Life with Baino, which reflects on her creative and multimedia journey. The book was also added to the permanent collection of the prestigious New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

On May 23, 2026, Astrid's Saints triumphed at the Vespertilio Awards in Rome, winning the award for Best Production. The film received 7 official nominations, including one for Best Lead Actress, with Cataldi-Tassoni as a finalist, as well as a prestigious shortlist selection for Best Music, composed by Cataldi-Tassoni herself.

Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni continues to dedicate herself with passion and perseverance to the development of new artistic and cinematic projects, always accompanied by her inseparable four-legged rescues, Dreamer and Zungolito.