Ludovica Modugno was an Italian actress and voice actress renowned for her extensive and versatile career, which spanned both stage and screen. Born on January 12, 1949, she began her artistic journey at a very young age, appearing in the first Italian television drama, Il dottor Antonio, when she was only four years old. Her entry into the world of dubbing came with the film Marcellino pane e vino, where she voiced the young protagonist. Modugno passed away on October 26, 2021, at the age of seventy-two.

While she was a celebrated figure for dubbing numerous Hollywood icons such as Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Emma Thompson, and Julianne Moore, Ludovica Modugno was also a significant and beloved presence in the world of animated films. She lent her distinctive voice to a variety of characters in productions by major studios, including Disney and, most notably, Studio Ghibli.

Her work with Studio Ghibli is particularly memorable. She voiced the character Nonna Kikuchi in the 1999 film My Neighbors the Yamadas, which was dubbed into Italian in 2016. She also took on the role of Banks in the 2017 film Mary and The Witch's Flower, a production by Studio Ponoc, which was founded by a former Ghibli producer. Her other significant contributions to the world of Japanese animation include voicing the Witch of the Waste in Howl's Moving Castle, Moro in the 2014 re-dubbing of Princess Mononoke, a cloth seller in Tales from Earthsea, and Yoshie in Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Beyond her work with Japanese animation, Modugno had a rich history with Disney. She was the Italian voice of memorable characters such as Yzma in Kronk's New Groove and the animated series The Emperor's New School, and she voiced various incarnations of the villainess Cruella de Vil in projects like 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure and the live-action 101 Dalmatians film, for which Glenn Close provided the original performance. She was also the voice of Grammi Gummi in the series Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears and Miss Forcible in Coraline and the Magic Door.

Modugno's career was marked by recurring collaborations within the Italian dubbing industry. She frequently worked with CDC Sefit Group, one of Italy's major dubbing studios, and was directed by noted dialogue directors such as Gualtiero Cannarsi, particularly on several Studio Ghibli projects including My Neighbors the Yamadas. In addition to her work as a voice actress, she was also a highly respected director of dubbing, overseeing the Italian-language adaptations for numerous films and series, including the Duck Tales reboot and the Beverly Hills, 90210 series.

Among her notable achievements, Ludovica Modugno was also a distinguished theater actress and teacher. In 1978, she founded the theater company L'Albero with her husband, actor Gigi Angelillo. For her work on stage, she received the Premio dell'Associazione Nazionale Critici di Teatro as best Italian theater actress in 2008. Her contributions to Italian art and culture are marked by a career that seamlessly blended acting and dubbing, leaving a lasting legacy in both fields.