Wilma De Angelis

Wilma De Angelis was born in Milan on 8 April 1930 and lived there all her life. She began studying singing as a young girl, first with maestro Cosimo Di Ceglie and then with maestro Rusconi, and as a young woman sang in the best known nightclubs of Milan.

She had no conservatory career on record. Her training was private vocal study with maestro Cosimo Di Ceglie and later maestro Rusconi, followed by years of live work in Milan's jazz and night club scene. In 1956 she won the title "Reginetta del Jazz italiano" at Boario Terme singing "My Funny Valentine", "Summertime" and "A Foggy Day".

In 1952 she signed with Vis Radio and spent four years recording with Maria Dattoli as the Duo Vocale Vis, also singing on radio with the Orchestra Conte. After going solo she signed with Philips in 1957 and found success in the Netherlands with Italian standards.

At the 1959 Sanremo Music Festival she sang "Nessuno" (with Betty Curtis) and "Per tutta la vita" (with Jula de Palma), and that year she reached the Canzonissima final and duetted with Mina on "Nessuno". She placed third at Sanremo 1960 with "Quando vien la sera" (with Joe Sentieri), introduced "Patatina" by Gianni Meccia at Sanremo 1961, and returned in 1962 and 1963, when "Non costa niente" (with Johnny Dorelli) reached the final. She also sang at the Naples, Zurich and Musichiere festivals and appeared on "Studio Uno" in 1964.

From the mid 1960s she toured northern Europe. In 1979 Paolo Limiti brought her to Telemontecarlo to host "Telemenù", later "Sale, pepe e fantasia", one of the first Italian television programmes dedicated entirely to cooking. Further cooking formats followed, including "A pranzo con Wilma", "La spesa di Wilma" and "Complimenti allo chef". She was later a regular on "Ci vediamo in TV" and "Alle due su Rai 1", hosted "Sabato 4" on Rete 4, and from 2000 played La Cecca, the traditional mask of the Milan carnival. She was a commentator on "Domenica in" in 2010 and 2011 and kept singing live on television into her nineties.

Wilma De Angelis never married and had no children. For twenty-three years she was romantically linked to a widower named Gianni, until his death. She lived in Milan throughout her life. English Wikipedia describes her as agnostic. Her nephew Fabio De Angelis, the son of her brother, announced her death.

She was known for her frankness and humour in interviews. In one widely shared interview she recalled that in her youth she had gone on an amphetamine diet together with Mina and Miranda Martino, buying the pills at the pharmacy as if they were aspirin, without knowing they were harmful. She later distanced herself from the risque lyrics of "Dimmi di sì", the cover that had gone viral.

De Angelis is remembered as one of the voices of the golden age of the Sanremo festival and as a pioneer of cooking television in Italy, long before cooking formats became a staple. Her career spanned more than sixty years and reached new audiences through viral clips on social media. Tributes after her death described her as kind, ironic and humble; the Pro Loco of Cerro Maggiore, of which she was an honorary member, called her "a true example of humility and skill".

Reginetta del Jazz italiano, Boario Terme (1956). Juke Box d'Oro (1960). Third place at the Sanremo Music Festival 1960 with "Quando vien la sera". Voted "La simpaticissima" on Rete 4 (1994). Lifetime achievement award from the Pro Loco of Cerro Maggiore (2020). She was celebrated for 65 years of career on "I migliori anni" in May 2017.

Cookbooks: "Le mille meglio" (1988), "Quando cucina Wilma" (Bernardini, 1992), "In cucina con fantasia" (De Agostini, 60 volumes, 1994), "Dolci e decorazioni" and "La mia cucina a microonde" (De Agostini, 1995), "Verdissimo", "Tesori in cucina" and "Buongiorno con Wilma" (De Agostini). Albums include "Questi pazzi pazzi Oldies", "Innamorarsi con Wilma" (1994) and "La mia vita veste in rosa" (1995). Screen work includes "I promessi sposi" (1989), "Un giorno fortunato" (1997), "Gian Burrasca" (2002) and the film "Femmine contro maschi" (2011).

Wilma De Angelis died in Milan on 11 October 2026, aged 96. Her nephew Fabio De Angelis announced her death in a post on Facebook. The cause of death was not made public. Her last television appearance had been on 25 March 2025, on "La Volta Buona", to celebrate Mina's 85th birthday.