[3] Born in Buenos Aires as Alba Fossati, daughter of two Italian emigrants, Arnova studied piano at the Conservatory and enrolled in the university at the medical faculty.

[4] She became the principal classical dancer of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and changed her surname first to Ars Nova and then to Arnova.

[5] She left Argentina in 1948, for a six months stage tour, and eventually remained in Rome, where she worked first in theater as a classical dancer and as a revue and avanspettacolo soubrette.

[5] In 1956 Arnova created a controversy when she appeared on the RAI television variety show La piazzetta wearing a tight leotard that made her appear semi-nude because of the lighting effects and the black-and-white system.

The show was suspended and she was subsequently fired and banned from Italian television.