A life spread across three continents comes with sacrifice, but it has led Udenio to become the queen of Netflix thanks to Fubar becoming the most-watched series in the U.S.

Born in Argentina to a family of Italian descent who owned an import-export business in Buenos Aires, she was six years old when her parents decided to return to Milan.

“There I got the theatre bug,” she says, “and when I was ten, I enrolled in an acting school.”

Her schoolmates were in awe of her impressive memorisation skills as she rehearsed for parts.

At 13, she was awarded the title of Miss Teenager, but her real breakthrough came thanks to Giorgio Strehler, who wanted her in the role of Miranda in the historic 1978 production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

The production was at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro, with Giulia Lazzarini as Ariel (who flew across the stage supported by ropes hanging from the ceiling), Michele Placido as Caliban, Tino Carraro as Prospero and Massimo Bonetti as Fernando.

“I was thunderstruck by Strehler, my dream was to play Juliet,” says Fabiana, who in that time also gained experience in film and TV, becoming the first presenter for the newly formed Rai 3.

“Seeing me again, with that pink suit and the little voice of a teenager, makes me immensely tender,” she comments.

Her presence marked an innovative turning point at Rai, thanks to the tight-fitting sleeveless jumpsuit and announcements made whilst moving, to cameras that changed position.

It looked so different from the compact and plastered style seen on other channels.

It was an intense start to Fabiana Udenio's acting career

Udenio also began to look for opportunities outside Italy, because “I had a lot of difficulty accepting the system by which people were chosen to work on TV, without auditions.”

She went to the U.S. to study acting and English and got to know the world of soaps with a part in Una vita da vivere, to be followed over the years by many appearances on other TV shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger, NYPD and Baywatch.

Udenio, who was engaged to an actor in Los Angeles, often flew to the west coast to see him. During one of these visits is when Hollywood took notice of her. With the persistence and earnestness she’s had since her teenage years, she would constantly put herself out there and audition.

In 1987 she filmed Summer School - A Repeaters’ Vacation alongside Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley. It was a college movie about a teacher forced to give up his Hawaii vacation to give remedial lessons to a group of troubled students. A brilliant comedy in which Fabiana plays the role of Italian American Anna Maria Mozzarelli.

“From there they started calling me for comedic roles in many sitcoms,” says Udenio.

For example, she appeared as an Italian au pair in an episode of Evening Shade, a series directed by and starring Burt Reynolds (“A great director,” she is quick to point out, complimentary as always with colleagues).

She tried to return to Italy “with projects that never had the success they deserved,” she recalls with some bitterness. “Every time I was disappointed. With Giorgio Oldoini I shot Anni 90, but then for the sequel they did not call me back.”

But in 1997 came a big break: Austin Powers, a parody of the James Bond movie franchise, was released. That meant acting next to a comedy monster like Mike Myers, who co-wrote the script.

“When my agent called me to offer me the job, I couldn’t believe it,” Udenio admits, “I was convinced it was a mistake. It wasn’t.”

Udenio played Alotta Fagina (Anabella Fagina in the Italian dubbed edition), the Italian secretary to the film’s villain, Dr Evil. Her character was a caricatured Bond girl who tries to seduce Austin to extract secrets from him.

“The script, on a simple reading, had not seemed so effective to me,” she admits.

“But still I had not seen him, Mike Myers, in action. Before we started filming, we had hardly spoken to each other. He is very shy. But on set he transforms. He plays, he improvises—it was a great learning experience.”

And now, from secret agent to secret agent, she has landed on Netflix with the series Fubar, where she is Tally Brunner, the ex-wife of the lead character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, an undercover CIA agent who wants to win her back.

“Arnold gives his all as an actor,” Udenio says enthusiastically. “He tries and tries again with great seriousness, but then he loves to improvise. I’m not used to it, so I would try to go back to the script, but he would take me somewhere else.”

Udenio on the red carpet at the premiere of Fubar. (Photo: Netflix)

She beams when talking about the experience, “Arnold has a great personality that he brings to the set. A very intense life between bodybuilding, film and politics, full of anecdotes we all want to hear. His presence makes the set more fun. When he is there, we work with even more enthusiasm. A great leader and a smooth talker. Great for when there is an official speech to make.”

Today Udenio lives in Los Angeles, where her three identities coexist. The Argentine one, manifested in her love for the night. The Italian one, expressed through culture and the pleasure of reading, studying and being informed. Finally, the American one, which has developed her professionalism.

“Otherwise, I am a nomad,” she reveals, “If I have a job and the people I love beside me, I adapt to any place. I must admit though, in an Italy-Argentina football match, I wouldn’t really know who to cheer for.”

In Buenos Aires, the city where she was born, she has returned only once, in 2001, at the time of the default. “It was a very difficult time, yet there was so much desire to live, and to do it with joy, despite the troubles,” she says.

And with just one sentence she explains her love for Argentina is intact despite the years away, “Because it is an irresistible country.”