Franquelli, who was of Filipino, Spanish and Italian descent, was born in Manila. She attended school in the Philippines and Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States where she attended the University of Southern California.^[2] The widow of a former Army surgeon, Fely was, upon her death at age 85, buried at Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband.

According to Salvador P. Lopez, she was a dancer who exuded the poise of a polished professional with the smoothness, the grace and the skill that come with confidence in oneself and with certitude of knowledge. She had a brief film career and her most known role was in Back to Bataan as Dalisay Delgado, the former fiancée of Captain Andrés Bonifácio, who is apparently collaborating with the Japanese, broadcasting propaganda over the radio. (In actuality, Delgado was also using the propaganda broadcasts as a means to relay sensitive information to the Filipino resistance without incurring Japanese suspicions).

Listed below are some dances that Franquelli created:

• Hindu Temple Dance
• White Eagle (Navajo)
• Chinese Legend (about the goddess of beauty Ming Toy from Hainan)
• Tabu (African)
• Sacro Monte (a paso doble)
• Bulerías (a flamenco from Malaga)
• Gypsy Fortune Teller (a zambra in Granada)
• Jarabe (Mexican)
• Le Singe Qui Danse (a monkey dance)
• The Beast
• Planting Rice
• Tinikling

• Back to Bataan (1945) as Dalisay Delgado
• Cry 'Havoc' (1943) as Luisita Esperito
• The Fallen Sparrow (1943) (uncredited) as Gypsy Dancer
• The Leopard Man (1943) (uncredited) as Rosita

• Villaruz, B.E.S. "Altar" in CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, 1st ed., Vol. 5, 208. Philippines: CCP Publications Office, 1994.

• Fely Franquelli at IMDb