Biografia

Henry Fine said of her: "She behaved like a most circumspect young lady, but whenever you came near her, you could feel the heat coming out of her. She was one of the sexiest females I have ever encountered, a great lovely ball of shimmering fire--but wrapped up in iron control. But you did have to wonder about her, and who was going to get burned when she did burst into flames.".

Despite scathing reviews for her performance in O Egípcio (1954) following its release in 1954, in recent years Darvi has received some praise from the critics, including Camille Paglia, who described her performance as "hypnotic".

After returning to Europe she regularly called on ex-lover Darryl F. Zanuck to rescue her financially from mounting gambling debts. He ignored her final plea, just before her suicide in 1971.

Committed suicide by using her oven to gas herself in her Monte-Carlo apartment. Her body was not discovered for ten days.

Marlon Brando was originally scheduled to appear opposite her in the Technicolor epic O Egípcio (1954). During the script read-through before filming began, the pair disliked each other at first sight. Bella, cast as the courtesan Nefer, was also jeered by more experienced star Jean Simmons, who laughed with other cast members that Darvi was "an actress who 'nefer' was." Just as filming was to start, Brando refused to make the film, his agent telling studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, "He doesn't like the director, he doesn't like the role. And he can't stand Bella Darvi!" Edmund Purdom was cast in his place.