MacColl is recognised for her work on European television and film, mainly in Italy. She has gained somewhat of a cult status, by horror fans, because of her career as an Italian horror Actress. MacColl began her career in the late 1970s, making her debut in the French romantic drama Le dernier amant romantique, in which she received a small role. In 1979, she received her first leading role in Lady Oscar, a historical drama directed by Jacques Demy based on the manga Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda. Following her part in the drama Le fils puni, she appeared in the first of Director Lucio Fulci's 'The Gates of Hell Trilogy', City of the Living Dead, playing the role of Mary Woodhouse, with Christopher George.