Daniela was born in Fresno, California to an Italian Father and an American Mother. Her childhood was a mix of foggy Northern California winters and hot Rome Summers (which mirrored every Federico Fellini film ever made) filled w/long evenings on balconies surrounded by the beautiful and glamorous of Rome, producers, directors and artists.

From the age of 8 Daniela knew she was going to be an Actress or a Showgirl or a Circus performer. At 8 years old she created a very strict training protocol for herself, complete with books full of notes, plans, research and exercises. Daniela would rehearse by putting on Burlesque shows with the rest of the kids at family holidays, producing, directing and acting in them even dressing the cast up in her grandmother’s vintage lingerie. She read voraciously and studied movies and sitcoms like it was her job.

Upon leaving University Daniela moved to the bright lights of LA and immersed herself in the Hollywood of her imagination. Although she never quite understood the ‘business side’ of the city she revelled in the magic of living in a place created by people who truly believed that dreams do come true.

Little did she know she would meet a Scotsman (straight out of central casting for every romantic movie ever written) and that together they would travel and live around the world Seattle, France, The Channel Islands, Italy and of course Scotland, Ireland and finally, London.

In London, Daniela did all the things her 8 year old self dreamed of. As Shady Lane she was a regular Burlesque performer at the iconic ‘Madame Jojo’s, she trained as a Red Nose Clown, she went back to her childhood love the Theatre, she appeared as ‘dodgy goth prisoner #4’ in a BBC sitcom, she did VO work voicing Hilary Clinton for the Yalta Summit.

And because every good story needs a dramatic ending, we surely can’t leave it here. Earlier we mentioned that Daniela was an avid lifetime reader/obsessive audiobook addict. Well one day in a burst of bravery, Daniela auditioned to become a Narrator for the RNIB and when she walked out of that studio in Soho, London, that was it. It was suddenly very clear to her that there was no point in wasting even one more minute doing anything else, ever again. Daniela continued narrating for the RNIB from that day on until she began narrating full time from her professional home studio in 2015.

Daniela now spends her days working w/Publishers and Indie writers. Her favourite dopamine hit is that moment when she brings the author’s words to life in a way that surprises even them. The satisfaction of a job well done, of using all your training and creating something that feels like magic. She specializes in Thrillers and especially loves working with characters who are damaged. There’s humanity at the core of each character (even the unlikeable characters) a narrator’s job is to find that spark.

Now Daniela lives in the UK with her lovely Scottish husband, her maximalist colourful flat, far too much Faux Fur and her chatty talking Bird Vlad. By holding steadfast to her dreams somehow that little 8 year old made her plan work. Dreams really do come true! You just have to hang on.

“My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud"

Henry Rollins