Paolo Poli (May 23, 1929 – March 25, 2016) was an Italian theatre actor.

[2] After a university degree in French literature, Poli began his acting career in the early 1950s and was one of the first actors in Italy to perform en travesti roles.

He has acted in and directed a host of operettas, among which Aldino mi cali un filino, Rita of Cascia, Caterina de Medici, L'asino d'oro, Gulliver's Travels, La leggenda di San Gregorio, Il coturno della ciabatta, and La nemica by Dario Niccodemi.

His Rita of Cascia prompted complaints from Italian president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.

[3] Well into his eighties, he continued performing on stage, most recently in Sillabari [4] by Goffredo Parise and Aquiloni, taken from Giovanni Pascoli.