THE star of a hit superhero movie has barely aged since became a global superstar more than 40 years ago.
Ornella Muti played Princess Aura in Flash Gordon in 1980 and looked incredible at a recent book signing event.
The actress made her English-speaking film debut in the sci-fi movie and was voted “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World” in 1994 by a worldwide poll of readers of Class magazine.
Flash Gordon, which celebrated its 45th anniversary this month, follows the adventures of American football quarterback Flash as he ventures into space to unite the planet Mongo and save Earth from destruction.
Ornella, who was born in Italy with Russian ancestry, has recently been on a book tour on the Italian island of Calabria.
She released her autobiography, This Is Not Ornella Muti, in September and shared a series of photos from her tour in Calabria.
Ornella looked striking a red maxi dress and dark-framed glasses as she greeted fans in the Italian bookstore.
The beauty worked as a model before making her film debut as a 14-year-old in 1970.
She would go on to have an illustrious film career in Italy before making her Hollywood debut in the 1980s.
After starring in Flash Gordon, Ornella worked with many well-known movie directors, including Woody Allen, John Landis and Eugene Levy.
In 2008, Ornella launched her own jewellery line and opened a number of retail stores in Italy.
She had a brush with the Italian law in 2015 when she was sentenced to 10 months in jail for cancelling a theatre performance.
Ornella had cited a health reason for cancelling the show in 2010, but then attended a dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
The actress is mum to three children, including her model daughter, Naike Rivelli.
Naike and her mum became the topic of a heated debate when it was revealed, Ornella and Naike’s step-father had snapped nude pics of the model for Instagram.
In 2016 Naike, who is well-known in Italy for uploading racy snaps, posted a photo of her standing on one leg covering her breasts and groin with her hands.
Underneath the picture, she wrote: “Who in the world took this picture of me? The man I don’t have? The woman I don’t have? The friends who aren’t here right now? Who?”
Then, she revealed another snap showing her stepfather, Fabrice Kerherve, taking the shot – as her mother lies under a dressing table taking even more pictures.
Next to this photo, Naike added: “In the end, it’s so much simpler than it seems.
“A simple crazy morning with my mum Ornella Muti and my stepdad Fabrice Kerherve family moments.”
But far from ‘liking’ the social media posts, many online commenters felt there was something distasteful about the model being photographed by her stepdad.
