In Italian theatrical culture, the term sciantosa (pronounced [ʃanˈtoːsa; -oːza]; pl.
[4] Popular sciantose often had (or pretended to have) mysterious and exotic traits, such as a foreign accent, a turbulent past, or romantic affairs with lovers from the jet set.
To emphasize their reputation of divas, prominent sciantose hired a claque to follow their shows.
Some of the most well known sciantose were Anna Fougez, Gilda Mignonette, Olimpia d'Avigny, and Yvonne de Fleuriel.
With the advent of cinema and television, many forms of popular theatrical shows faded, and so did the "sciantosa" archetype, whose traits were partially transferred to new roles such as the soubrette or the showgirl.