Malacrida, an only child, was born on 15 June 1895 in Hampstead, London,[1][2][3] to businessman Charles Edward Green[4] and his wife, Louisa Cass.

[8] Malacrida and her husband collaborated writing two lightly disguised romans à clef about the London society scene, using the pseudonym P. N. Piermarini: Life Begins To-Day (1923) and Footprints on the Sand (1924).

[11] Malacrida took part in an early John Logie Baird television broadcast in 1933,[8] and in 1934, the last year of her life, she frequently read mostly Victorian prose excerpts and poetry on BBC radio, under the name Nadja Green.

[12] She also appeared in a national newspaper advertising campaign for Vim household cleaner,[8] where she was quoted as explaining that it was "no use having new ideas of decoration if you have old ideas of dirt"[13] and contrasting the dusty hangings and bric-à-brac of the Victorian era with the simple, spare modern interiors, which must be kept clean because "every speck and spot is glaringly obvious".

The couple would buy flats at smart London addresses, then remodel and sell them, trading under the name "Olivotti".

[21][22] On 3 October 1934, Malacrida was killed in a single-vehicle crash while driving, alone, back to London from Cecil Roberts' country cottage just outside Henley.

[8] The couple shared a love of fast driving and owned several vehicles including Hispano-Suiza, Mercedes and Isotta Fraschini,[24] and she had previously driven at Brooklands motor racing circuit.