Greta Scacchi was born in Milan, Italy, to Pamela, an English dancer and antiques dealer, and Luca Scacchi , an Italian art dealer and painter. She grew up in Milan and later moved to London. In 1975, her mother and second husband moved to Australia, and Greta worked as a cowgirl and an Italian interpreter. At age 18, she returned to London and trained at the Bristol Old Vic. Played small parts as a stage actress and worked as a model for commercials. She made her first appearance on British television, then the young film maker Dominik Graf directed her in Das zweite Gesicht (1982). She learned German for this movie. (She also speaks fluent Italian and French.) After Chaleur et poussière (1983), she played parts for Australian and English television and movies, including a modernised play by Anton Chekhov in 1988, (directed by Margarethe von Trotta). She was discovered by Hollywood after appearing in 'White Mischief'.
