Afef Jnifen (born 3 November 1963) is a Tunisian-born Italian fashion model, actress and television presenter.

Biography

Jnifen was born in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

in Ben Gardane,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and naturalized Italian citizen. She is the daughter of the former Tunisian ambassador Mohamed Jnifen, who also was ambassador in: Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain. Her mother, Saida Benina, is of

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

origin. She is married to Marco Tronchetti Provera, an Italian businessman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli & C. S.p.A. and

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fix ...

Career

Her modeling career began when she was discovered by photographer

Jean-Paul Goude Jean-Paul Goude (born 8 December 1938 in Montreuil (France)) is a French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, advertising film director and event designer. He worked as art director at ''Esquire'' magazine in New York City during the ...

, who spotted her walking on the beach while he was shooting a "Club Med" ad with

Carla Bruni Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...

. Goude put Jnifen in the ad and suggested her to go to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and meet the designer

Azzedine Alaïa Azzedine Alaïa (; ar, عز الدين عليّة, ʿIzz ad-Dīn ʿAlayya, ; 26 February 1935 – 18 November 2017) was a Tunisian couturier and shoe designer, particularly successful beginning in the 1980s. Early life Alaïa was born in Tunis, ...

. She quickly became a favorite model of many of Europe's top designers, travelling between

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

and Paris while working for

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

Fendi Fendi () is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods ...

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an " enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including cors ...

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, per ...

, and others. Jnifen's successful career in fashion has since spanned three decades representing top international brands such as

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, s ...

, Paris. In addition to modeling, Afef is also a successful actress, known for TV series ''La grande notte'' in 2003 on

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, tal ...

. She also was hosted in television programs such as ''Maurizio Costanzo Show'' in 1982 on

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 ...

and ''Quelli che... il calcio'' in 1993 on

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural an ...

. She has also been a popular Italian television presenter, hosting, in 1999 with

Fabrizio Frizzi Fabrizio Adriano Frizzi (5 February 1958 – 26 March 2018) was an Italian television presenter and voice actor. He often presented a mixture of variety shows, talent shows and game shows across Italy and he was also known as the Italian voice o ...

, ''Scommettiamo che....'' on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and ge ...

, and, in 2006 with Gene Gnocchi, ''La grande notte'' on Rai 2. In 2016 and 2017, Jnifen stars in Project Runway Middle East on MBC as a jury member along with

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

designer Elie Saab and Egyptian actress

Yousra Yousra ( ; ar, يسرا, ; born Seveen Nessim, ) is an Egyptian actress and singer. She is considered as a glamorous icon for the Middle East and is an influential voice in the region. Career Yousra participated as a main Role actress in alm ...

. In 2017, she was named ambassador of "Fashion 4 Development".

References

External links

* * Living people 1963 births People from Ben Gardane Tunisian female models Tunisian women television presenters Italian television presenters Italian showgirls Italian women television presenters Tunisian people of Turkish descent Italian people of Tunisian descent Italian people of Turkish descent Tunisian emigrants to Italy Muslim models {{Italy-bio-stub