Loredana Bertè

Loredana Bertè (born 20 September 1950) is an Italian singer and actress. In her long career she has worked with prominent Italian songwriters such as Pino Daniele, Ivano Fossati, Mario Lavezzi, Mango and Enrico Ruggeri, among others; her sister Mia Martini was also an acclaimed singer. She has experimented with different genres, from rock to reggae, from funk to pop. Bertè is known for the eccentric clothing she wears onstage for her performances.

At one point in her life (1988–1992), she was married to the tennis star Björn Borg.

Bertè was born in Bagnara Calabra, Province of Reggio Calabria, in Southern Italy on September 20 as the third of four daughters, three years after her sister Domenica. Her parents, Giuseppe Radames Bertè and Maria Salvina Dato, were both school teachers. Loredana spent her childhood in Porto Recanati and then in Ancona. After her parents separated, Bertè moved with her mother to Rome where she attended the local Art Institute.

In the early 1970s she performed as a go-go dancer in television and radio shows such as "Bandiera Gialla" and "Stasera Rita!". She later joined the dance troupe of the Piper Club in Rome, where she met Renato Zero. In 1969 both Bertè, Zero and Teo Teocoli starred in the Italian edition of the musical "Hair". In 1970 Loredana and her sister Domenica, who had by then changed her name to Mia Martini, performed as backing vocalists for Chico Buarque de Holanda. While Martini would consequently start a successful music career, recording songs like "Piccolo Uomo" and "Minuetto", Loredana continued to pursue theatre. In 1972 she performed in "Ciao Rudy" and "Orfeo 9". In 1974, producers Alfredo Cerruti and Enrico Riccardi persuaded Loredana to record her first album, Streaking. Bertè's second album, "Normale o Super" included "Sei Bellissima", Bertè's first domestic hit. In 1978, Bertè started a relationship with Ivano Fossati. Fossati produced the single "E la luna bussò", which is considered one of the early minstream reggae songs in Italy.

In the early 1980s Bertè spent a year in New York to work on her next album. Elio Fiorucci introduced her to Andy Warhol at the Factory. Warhol and Bertè collaborated on the music video for her song "Movie". In 1982 she won Festivalbar with "Non sono una signora". In 1985 she recorded the album Carioca in collaboration with Djavan. In 1986 she participated to the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Re". In 1988 she met and married Björn Borg. The marriage would end in 1992. In 1993 Bertè and Mia Martini, collaborated on the song "Stiamo come stiamo". On May 12, 1995, Martini was found unresponsive in her apartment in Cardano al Campo (varese). Martini's death proved to be a devastating moment in Bertè's life.