Antonia Franceschi started her actor career in the feature film Grease, directed by Randall Kleiser. She then went onto play the character of  Hilary van Doren, in the Alan Parker film Fame.
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Her first stage performance was in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues and then starred in Up From the Waste directed by Nancy Meckler for The Soho Theatre London’s West End, a semi-autobiographical account of her difficult childhood, addressing gangs, drugs, harassment, rape, and murder. It shows her eventual escape through dance, but reflects earlier traumas in the dance world's demanding environment, including disordered eating, emotional abuse and sexual predation. The production received four stars from The Telegraph.
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Antonia is also featured in several dance films for British TV including Ponte Blank,Frankenstein, and Ecco, and The Merchant-Ivory Film, The Golden Bowl.