Elisabetta Canalis (; born 12 September 1978) is an Italian actress and

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

Early life

Canalis was born in

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

in Italy. Her father, Cesare, is a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiati ...

University of Sassari The University of Sassari ( it, Università degli Studi di Sassari, UniSS) is a university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 13 departments. The University of Sassari earned first place in the rankings for ...

's clinic, and her mother, Bruna, was a teacher. She has a brother named Luigi, who is also a radiologist and was involved in a Switzerland debt scandal. Canalis was educated in Sassari, where she attended the "classical" high school (

Liceo classico Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

), and then moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

to study foreign languages at Università degli Studi di Milano, though she never graduated because she started to work as a dancer for Silvio Berlusconi's TV channel Canale 5 at the age of 21.

Career

Acting and presenting

Elisabetta Canalis was a dancer on the

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a ...

TV show''

Striscia la Notizia ''Striscia la notizia'' () is an Italian satirical television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Founded in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but ''Striscia'' also satirizes gover ...

''from 1999 to 2002. Canalis had minor roles in the films '' Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' and ''

Virgin Territory ''Virgin Territory'' is a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by David Leland and starring Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton, Tim Roth, Rosalind Halstead and Kate Groombridge. Based upon Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Decameron'', it has also been know ...

'', a comedy produced by Roberto Cavalli. In 2005, she replaced a busy

Michelle Hunziker Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (Swiss , ; born 24 January 1977) is a Swiss-Italian television presenter and former model. Early life Hunziker was born in Sorengo, Lugano, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Her mother Ineke is Dutch an ...

in ''Love Bugs 2'', the second season of the sitcom Love Bugs. In 2007, she co-hosted the annual Italian music festival, Festivalbar but the TV program closed. In 2009, she replaced a pregnant Elena Santarelli on the Italian version of

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

, on MTV Italia. Elisabetta hosted the

Trofeo Birra Moretti The Trofeo Birra Moretti ''(Birra Moretti Trophy)'' was an annual football friendly tournament that had been organised and sponsored by Birra Moretti from 1997 to 2008. The teams played three round-robin matches lasting 45-minutes each. If any mat ...

2008, a summer football competition played between

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Campania that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. Napoli has ...

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

. In 2010, she played a recurring character in season 3 of the

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

series ''

Leverage Leverage or leveraged may refer to: *Leverage (mechanics), mechanical advantage achieved by using a lever * ''Leverage'' (album), a 2012 album by Lyriel *Leverage (dance), a type of dance connection *Leverage (finance), using given resources to ...

''. In February 2011, she co-hosted the most important Italian song contest,

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

with

Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the ...

and

Belen Rodriguez Belén is the Spanish name for Bethlehem. Belen, Belén or Beleń may also refer to: Places Argentina * Belén, Catamarca * Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province Bolivia * Belén (Aroma), La Paz Department, Bolivia * Belén (Potosí), Bo ...

. She interviewed in the Festival

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

. Canalis appeared on the 13th season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

''. She was paired with

Valentin Chmerkovskiy Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy ( uk, Валентин Олександрович "Вал" Чмерковський; born March 24, 1986) is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version ...

and was the second to be eliminated on 27 September 2011. She was interviewed on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' in September 2011."Elisabetta Chats with Ellen"
Ellen web site, 23 September 2011 Though she wears animal leather bags and shoes, she posed for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked than Wear Fur" campaign in 2011. For two nights, she co-hosted for the second time the

Sanremo Music Festival 2012 The Sanremo Music Festival 2012 was the 62nd annual Sanremo Music Festival. It was held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia, during the five nights between 14 February 2012 and 18 February 2012, and it was broadcast by Rai 1. Th ...

and acted with the singer

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

in the role of "Messy Italia". In March 2015, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

Italy.

Modeling

Canalis was featured in the 2003 ''Max'' nude calendar. She has been a spokeswoman and runway model from 2006 to 2009 for the fashion brand "Hollywood Milano", a Milan-based disco club. She promoted in a spot recorded in New York the new city limousine Musa "5th Avenue". In June 2011 she appeared in a photoshoot of the Spanish version of

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

, and in September 2011 in the Arabian version of

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

. That same year, she modeled for

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, pe ...

. Canalis was June 2010 cover girl for the third time on ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

''. In the same year, she is, for the Italian version of

, the 4th woman most beautiful in 2010. She has been also on 2010 the 7th most beautiful woman for ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' and in top 50 for ''DT Spain'' magazine. Thanks to Clooney, she gained a contract as spokesmodel for

Pantene Pantene () is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient. It was purchased by Procter & ...

. In The Netherlands, she is a spokesperson for Auping. She was the covergirl for a June 2012 edition of ''Sportweek Dreams'', a special edition of ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

''. The shoot was in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. She appeared in a July 2012 advertisement for

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, a ...

. For Milano Fashion Week that year she modeled on the runway for

Philipp Plein Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864 ...

and for the new collection of Miss Bikini. On 2016 she became testimonial for the sportwear brand DEHA.

Personal life

Canalis was previously engaged to footballer

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

, and she also had a short relationship with film director

Gabriele Muccino Gabriele Muccino (; born 20 May 1967) is an Italian film director. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother of actor Silvio Mu ...

following his divorce. Canalis subsequently had a short relationship with football player Reginaldo. Canalis dated American actor

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...

for two years before breaking up in June 2011. On 23 November 2011, Canalis and Clooney were among 200 witnesses accepted by a Milan court in the trial of former Italian Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute (

Rubygate Silvio Berlusconi, then the Prime Minister of Italy, was accused and initially formally convicted of paying 17-year-old Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, also known by the stage name Ruby Rubacuori (Italian for "Ruby the Heartstealer"), for sexual se ...

). Canalis married orthopedic surgeon Brian Perri on 14 September 2014 in

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

. During the wedding, Italian singer

Bianca Atzei Veronica Atzei (born March 8, 1987) – better known by her stage name Bianca Atzei (, ) – is an Italian singer and TV personality. After the release of a few singles with Ultrasuoni between 2012 and 2014, she rose to prominence in February 20 ...

sang the traditional Sardinian song ''Ave Maria''. On 29 September 2015, she gave birth to their daughter Skyler Eva. She divorced Dr. Perri citing location preferences and permanent housing arrangements.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canalis, Elisabetta 1978 births Italian female models Italian film actresses Italian television personalities Living people Participants in American reality television series People from Sassari University of Milan alumni