Lara Wendel (born Daniela Rachele Barnes; 29 March 1965) is a German-Italian retired actress, active in film and television between 1972 and 1993.
Wendel had her first main role at 12 years old in the controversial erotic drama Maladolescenza (1977), which involved both nudity and simulated sex among preadolescents.
[1][3] Later she appeared in other controversial films, characterized by plots involving incest and improper relations between adults and adolescents, such as La petite fille en velours bleu (Little Girl in Blue Velvet, 1978), Mimi (1979), and Desideria: la vita interiore [it] (1980).
[1] In the 1980s Wendel was mainly active in horror films, working with Dario Argento (Tenebrae, 1982), Lamberto Bava (Midnight Killer, 1986), Joe D'Amato (Killing Birds, 1988), and Umberto Lenzi (Ghosthouse, 1988) among others.
[1] She was also in a number of art films, including Michelangelo Antonioni's Identification of a Woman (1982) and Federico Fellini's Intervista (1987).