Born in Rome, the daughter of the composer Ezio Carabella studied acting at the Silvio d'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts and began working as an actress on stage, first with Orazio Costa and then in the company of Luchino Visconti. In 1950 she married Marcello Mastroianni, from whom she never filed for divorce, in spite of Mastroianni's well-known romantic relationships. They had a daughter, Barbara. In 1976 Carabella reportedly offered to adopt her estranged husband's daughter by Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, whose parents' careers were demanding. Carabella's intermittent career includes films by Roberto Rossellini, Lina Wertmüller and Sergio Citti. She died in 1999, aged 73, of a bone tumor.