Raffaella Carra in Rome, Italy on Oct. 23, 2019. Raffaella Carrà, for decades one of Italian television’s most beloved entertainers, a woman affectionately nicknamed the “queen of Italian TV,” died Monday (July 5) at 78, Italian state TV quoted her family as saying. Rai state TV read a statement from the star’s family, announcing that she died in Rome after a long illness. No further details were released. With her energetic presence and strong, almost husky singing voice, the trim Carrà was a wildly popular staple in the early heyday decades of Rai, especially when it was the only nationwide TV broadcaster.