Born in Perugia,[1] Stella studied at the Conservatorio Francesco Morlacchi [it] in her home town[2] and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and made her debut in Spoleto, as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore, in 1950.

[6] She sang alongside Fedora Barbieri as Amneris, Carlo Bergonzi as Radames who also made his house debut, and George London as Amonasro, conducted by Fausto Cleva.

[1] She appeared in the title role in the world premiere of Maria Stuarda by Enzo De Bellis [Wikidata] at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1974.

[3] She appeared in an Italian television production of Andrea Chénier, alongside Mario Del Monaco and Giuseppe Taddei in 1955,[10] since released on DVD.

She was heard on an Italian radio broadcast of Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen, opposite Montserrat Caballé,[4] Stella died in Rome on 23 February 2022, at the age of 92.