- Born
- Nicknames
- J. Nichole Italiano
- J. Nichole Italiano-Zaza
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Nikki Nova is most known publicly, for her lengthy modeling career, years on Playboy TV (as a TV host for NC 411 & several guest appearances on other Playboy TV shows) as well as a B movie star. She is still involved in the Entertainment industry, but is now more fastidious about the job/jobs she takes (due to her additional career/focus in integrative medicine, writing).
Nichole "Nikki" was born in Hampton, Virginia. Her parents divorced when she was about 2 yrs old. Due to her father's job in law enforcement, she lived with her mother. Her father lost his life during a shooting, just before her 11th birthday. Things at home with her mother/stepfather were strained. She escaped from it into art, music and films. She attributes the arts with saving her, at a young age She attended & graduated from Phoebus high school, where she was voted Homecoming Queen. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles. She'd never been there, knew no one, sold her car for airfare & her1st month's rent, and proceeded to move in with 3 complete strangers. She was very happy in California. She claims that moving to California was one of the best decisions she's ever made.
Upon her move out west, she was originally attending design school. She soon realized that it was not for her. She loved the creative aspect of design, but disliked the industry itself. The combination of that & the fact that she couldn't afford to keep paying the tuition, led to her decisions to leave school. Shortly after leaving design school, she was discovered in a nightclub (by a photographer from Paris) while out with some friends. He shot her for a couple of different French entertainment/fashion magazines ,as well as the debut issue of an American magazine. That layout in the American magazine was more editorial/erotic in nature. She was then scooped up by famed erotic photographer Suze Randall, and her unplanned career snowballed from there. She went on to be one of the industry's top erotic models, and has been repeatedly published in just about every major men's magazine. She has also starred in several "B" movies & videos. In addition, Nikki hosted a show for Playboy TV for several years, called Night Calls 411 (as well as appearing on other PBTV shows prior to that). She also performed in a live comedy show called "The Red Light Comedy District" that toured the various California Improv comedy clubs.
As far as her "off camera" work, she's written for a variety of magazines (under various pen names) & is also currently working on her first book.
Shortly before the new year in 2006, Nikki suffered a nearly fatal TBI from a horse accident (on the set of job). She was forcefully thrown from the horse, landing head first on some rocks. Her skull was broken upon impact, and she suffered multiple brain hematoma's. When the paramedics arrived on scene, they told others present (friends/coworkers) that she was not going to survive the drive to the hospital. She was then air lifted & flown to the trauma unit of the closest hospital suited for her type of injuries. Upon arrival Nikki was medically induced into a coma, in an effort to control the bleeding & effectively save her life. Her friends/coworkers that were there at the hospital during this time, were told that it did not look good for her. She was originally not expected to live. To everyone's surprise, thankfully she did survive. There was still a very lengthy recovery after that though, lasting several years & leaving her with some permanent disabilities & other health issues.
Just after that nearly fatal brain trauma, she was forced to leave the entertainment industry for a while. It took her years to recover & she was temporarily, quite seriously mentally handicapped (particularly in those first few years). During that time she was unfortunately targeted by various predator's (financial and otherwise). One of those unscrupulous people in particular, was very exploitative about what he did to her. That incident (along with the stress from the others) is the main reason that she initially became incredibly private & changed her degree of accessibility by the public. All of that (combined with a very serious stalker situation) is what led to her to begin taking steps toward a new and/or additional path for herself.
Her stalker situation escalated & the FBI took on her stalker case. It was learned through their investigation that it was a stranger. He was an obsessed fan, that learned of her accident when it was put on the news. As Nichole "Nikki" quickly learned & said "When you're a known individual, I guess you have no right to privacy". What the FBI learned (aside from who the individual was) was that he was seemingly a very mentally disturbed individual, who also happened to have a great deal of education/knowledge of Criminology (legal loopholes) & was a gifted hacker. The combination of these things, is how he was able to evade capture. This situation went on for at least 12 years, forcing her into hiding and seclusion.
During her time in hiding, she decided to go back to school (for Integrative Medicine) where she's gained several certifications. She has been certified as an A. E. teacher (Energy work, similar to Reiki but w/ Native American techniques) since 2014. She's also CHT since 2017 & an Herbalist since 2022.
The journey continues....- IMDb Mini Biography By: Nikki Nova (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpousePasquale Zaza(February 27, 1996 - ?) (divorced)
- Gender / Gender identityFemale
- Pronounsshe/her
- Nikki Nova
- On November 4, 2005 Nikki was seriously injured after being thrown from a horse during a shoot, on location in AZ. The horse also fell, after violently throwing her off. When the horse fell, it landed on top of her. She was already unconscious at the time, as a result of her head trauma. Her skull was broken in multiple places & her brain sustained serious trauma & was hemorrhaging. She was originally not expected to live from this accident. Nikki was flown via helicopter, to the trauma unit at a hospital in Scottsdale, AZ. She remained in a coma there for a while, after which she was seriously handicapped (mentally and physically) for years to follow. She also suffered from brain seizures for several years afterwards, as well. Some of her physical disabilities are permanent but her brain has recovered nicely, and there is no evidence of any permanent mental disabilities.
- Her ex-husband (mid to late 90's), Pasquale Zaza, was the eldest son of Michele Zaza, head of the Zaza family and the Zaza-Mazarella crime clan in Naples, Italy. Pasquale was the reason Nichole had to flee Los Angeles many years ago and was on the run for nearly 2 years, but since then things have been peaceful and all has been forgiven.
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