Sabrina Debora Salerno (; born 15 March 1968), known mononymously as Sabrina, is an Italian singer, songwriter, model, actress and television presenter.
During her career, she has had ten international hits, including three number ones. Internationally, she is best known for her 1987 single "Boys (Summertime Love)", which topped the charts in France and Switzerland and peaked at No. 3 in the United Kingdom.
Early life
Sabrina was brought up by her aunt in Genoa before moving to live with her grandparents in Sanremo. She went to live with her mother when she was 15. She sang in the choir at her local Catholic church, and at school she formed a pop group with her friends.
Career
1980s
After winning a beauty contest in her native region, Liguria, Sabrina started modeling, and in 1984 she made her television debut on the Italian prime time show Premiatissima on Canale 5. "Boys" also gained popularity for its video, which included suggestive scenes of Sabrina dancing in a bikini that occasionally slipped down to reveal part of her nipples. The song has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. and "Like a Yo-Yo", produced by Giorgio Moroder. The latter became the musical theme of Odiens, a popular Italian prime time TV show in which Sabrina also appeared. In 1989, she starred in the Italian comedy film Fratelli d'Italia, directed by Neri Parenti, alongside Christian De Sica, Jerry Calà, and Massimo Boldi. She also released a new single, "Gringo", to moderate success and her first remix album called Super Remix.
1990s
In 1990, Sabrina was the hostess of the weekly prime time TV show Ricomincio da 2 with Raffaella Carrà on Rai 2, and released a new single called "Yeah Yeah", which reached No. 21 in Italy. The following year, Sabrina recorded "Siamo donne" with Italian singer Jo Squillo, her first release in Italian, which they performed together at 1991's Sanremo Music Festival. Sabrina's third studio album, Over the Pop, was released the same year, and for the first time she was allowed to co-write and co-produce some of the songs. Sabrina's desire for independence and distance from her glamour career led to a conflict with her management. As a result, the promotion of the album suffered and both the album and the follow-up single "Shadows of the Night" were commercial failures. After the failure of the third single "Cover Model", Sabrina parted ways with her label and management. During the summer of 2010 she hosted the prime-time TV show Mitici 80 on Italia 1. In 2012, Sabrina starred as herself in the French movie Stars 80, directed by Frédéric Forestier and produced by Thomas Langmann, and was on another RFM tour in France. In 2013, Sabrina featured on Neon Neon's song "Shopping (I Like To)" from the duo's second studio album Praxis Makes Perfect. During March and April 2014, Sabrina performed with and mentored a dance group called LECCEzione on Rai 1 prime-time TV show La Pista. In June, she released a Rick Nowels-produced single called "Colour Me", written and co-produced by Sabrina herself.
In 2015, she released a French cover of 1986 song "Ouragan" by Stephanie. In 2018, she released a new single called "Voices".
2020s
On 18 September 2024, Sabrina announced she had had surgery to remove a malignant node related to breast cancer.
Discography
- Sabrina (1987)
- Super Sabrina (1988)
- Over the Pop (1991)
- Maschio dove sei (1996)
- A Flower's Broken (1999)
- Erase/Rewind Official Remix (2008)
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1986
! scope="row"| Grandi magazzini
| The Thief
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1987
! scope="row"| Delirium
| Sabrina
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1989
! scope="row"| Fratelli d'Italia
| Michela Sauli
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1998
! scope="row"| Jolly Blu
| Annabella
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004
! scope="row"| Colori
| Mother
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2006
! scope="row"| Film D
| Sara
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
! scope="row"| Stars 80
| Sabrina
|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2019
! scope="row"| Modalità aereo
| Herself
|
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1986
! scope="row"| Ferragosto O.K.
| Guendalina
| Television movie
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1987
! scope="row"| Professione vacanze
| Mia Star
| TV series
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1987
! scope="row"| Tutti in palestra
| Sabrina
| TV series
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1998
! scope="row"| Tutti gli uomini sono uguali
| Vittoria
| TV series
|-
|}