Pezzaglia was the only daughter of the VIP hair-stylist Gerolamo Pezzaglia (1854–1899) and Adelinda Monti (1854–1940).[1] The family name was Pezzaglia, however, the variant spelling Pazzaglia is also found in some documents and sources.
Her uncle was the actor and "capocomico" Angelo Pezzaglia,[2] who encouraged her to start acting on stage.[3] At the age of 6 she already enchanted the public in theatre, and she grew to be a popular actress, acting in more than 120 theatrical pieces throughout Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia, Spain and Egypt.
She was first actress in Ermete Zacconi's "Compagnia", which was highly successful.[4]
In 1914 Pezzaglia played the character of Sofia in the film Il fornaretto di Venezia, directed by Luigi Maggi.[5] In 1918 she was cast as Biribì in the four-film serial movie Il mistero dei Montfleury. In 1918 she performed in La capanna dello zio Tom, directed by Riccardo Tolentino, and Le peripezie dell'emulo di Fortunello e compagni, directed by Cesare Zocchi Collani, playing the character of Madama Girasole.[6]
She was a nonconformist artist, playing also male or grotesque characters.[7]
In 1921 she was in the cast of La vendetta dello scemo, directed by Umberto Mucci.[8]
Pezzaglia continued acting on stage till the end of her life, when, during a successful theatrical season, she died of pneumonia in Florence at the age of 39.[9] She is buried at Trespiano Cemetery in Florence, Italy.
In 1908 she married the actor Antonio Greco and they had a son, Ruggero. Antonio died in 1913, at 29.[10] In 1920 she had a daughter, Anna, with the actor and producer Luigi Mottura, who was 16 years younger. The two never married.[11]
The story of her life is told in the website "Archivio Pezzaglia-Greco" ("Pezzaglia-Greco Archive") by her grandson Gianni Greco, an Italian writer and radio-TV anchorman, with a lot of unpublished documents and photos. And in 2013 the Pezzaglia-Greco Archive was declared "of historical interest particularly important" by the Italian Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Tourism.[12]
InAmber Tamblyn's book, Dark Sparkler (2015), Pezzaglia is mentioned in a poem.
