Rosa Fumetto didn't really fit the classic showgirl mold. She was too boho, too punk, too rock and roll, a free spirit of the late 60s who seemed far more at ease touring with a band than in the disciplined world of Parisian cabaret. And yet, she became one of the most famous showgirls in Europe.

Born Patrizia Novarini in Turin into a family of artists, she was studying set design in 1967 when she met Crazy Horse Paris founder Alain Bernardin. He thought she was perfect for his show: fresh, edgy and completely in tune with the funky codes of her generation. She accepted the offer, quit school and moved to Paris.

By 1968, she was dancing at Crazy Horse Paris. She lived nearby on Rue de Balzac with Tony, a British guitarist connected to Vince Taylor and Joe Dassin. They met in a club shortly after her arrival in France and moved in almost immediately, filling the space with Siamese and Persian cats. "I feel good in disorder and confusion," she said in 1970. "When the house is too tidy, I throw something on the floor. There's nothing sadder than furniture in place." She lived like a rock star, and eventually life caught up with the image: after Tony, she began a highly publicized romance with French rock-and-roll icon Johnny Hallyday, which turned her into a celebrity across Europe.

Her parents supported her career, but her uncle, a Catholic priest, disapproved. So Rosa wrote directly to Pope Paul VI explaining her life. When no reply came, she went to the Vatican herself, where, through the Pope's secretary, she received an extraordinary response: "How could you be reproached for wanting to support a large family? Rejoice. Thank God for having given you such a beautiful body."

She stayed at Crazy Horse Paris for nearly a decade before transitioning into music, becoming a Europop pioneer with tracks like “Crazy Moon” that became part of the 1980s’ soundtrack. In 1983, she made history as the first women to perform a full-length striptease on Italian television. Records, films, magazine covers, advertising campaigns: Rosa Fumetto was everywhere. Paris turned the Italian enfant terrible into a showgirl. Crazy Horse Paris turned her into a superstar.