Italian singer and cultural icon Ornella Vanoni, whose music reached a global audience after "L'appuntamento" featured in Ocean's Twelve, died at her Milan residence on November 21, 2025. She was 91. Local outlets Corriere della Sera and AGI reported that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Born in Milan on September 22, 1934, Vanoni grew up in a well-established family and received her education across Switzerland, Britain and France, becoming fluent in several languages. Although her parents encouraged a conventional professional path, her interests pulled her toward the stage. She trained under director Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro, where she performed works by Brecht and other major playwrights before eventually moving into music.
Her recording career began in the late 1950s with folk songs rooted in the stories of Milan's darker corners, earning her the moniker "Cantante della mala." Recognition on a national scale arrived in 1961 with "Senza fine," a track that would become one of her enduring classics. More hits followed through the 1970s, including "Domani è un altro giorno."
In 1970, she released "L'appuntamento," adapted from the Brazilian composition "Sentado à beira do caminho" by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos. Decades later, its inclusion in Steven Soderbergh's 2004 heist film Ocean's Twelve introduced Vanoni's voice to a new global audience, cementing her legacy far beyond Italian borders.
Her career, marked by longevity and reinvention, spanned more than 70 years and left an indelible imprint on Italian music and popular culture.