Vanessa Hessler (born January 21, 1988) is an Italian-American model and actress. A model since she was 15, Hessler has appeared in many publications throughout Italy, Germany, and France.

Early life

Daughter of an Italian mother and an American father, Hessler lived in Rome until she was 8, then moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, her father's birthplace. She lived in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, in her early teenage years. In 2002 she returned to Italy. She speaks

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, English, and French.

Career

Modeling

Hessler worked for'' Donna sotto le stelle'' and'' Notte Mediterranea'', both on TV. In 2004, she was chosen for Korff's advertising campaign and for Alta Roma Alta Moda, the Rome fashion week. She lives in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and Washington, D.C., and appeared in commercials for Baby Star, Nara Camicie, and Gilli. Hessler planned to work in television, and in early 2006 she wanted to replace

Alessia Marcuzzi Alessia Marcuzzi (born 11 November 1972) is an Italian television host, actress and former fashion model. In a career spanning over 30 years, she also co-hosted Sanremo Music Festival 2025. Career Born in Rome, to father Eugenio, from Trieste, ...

to host ''

Le Iene ''Le Iene'' (; , referencing the Italian name of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 movie '' Reservoir Dogs'') is an Italian television program. The program ''Le Iene'' is a television program broadcast on the Italian channel Italia 1. Beginning in 1997, ...

'', but lost to Cristina Chiabotto. Hessler has appeared in advertising for

GUESS Guessing is the act of drawing a swift conclusion, called a guess, from data directly at hand, which is then held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certaint ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

, and

Ferrero SpA Ferrero International SpA ( , ), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second ...

. In February 2010, she walked for the Fall 2010

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

show in Milan. In March 2006, she made her debut as a TV show host at the Festival di Sanremo with Claudia Cedro, Francesca Lancini, and

Marta Cecchetto Marta Cecchetto (born 18 June 1978) is an Italian model. Biography Cecchetto was born in Foligno where she spent her childhood. She played the piano for seven years, and was also interested in sports, horse riding and tennis above all, and da ...

Controversy

Hessler was the face of the DSL brand "Alice" (a service of

Telefónica Europe O2 (typeset as O2) is a global brand name owned by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica. The company uses the O2 brand for its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2018, it is also used as an online-only flanker ...

) in both

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

until late October 2011.

decided to terminate her contract due to her personal connections to, and public support for, the deposed Gaddafi family (she having been in a relationship with

Mutassim Gaddafi Mutassim Billah Gaddafi (, also transliterated as Al-Moa'tassem Bellah Al-Qaddafi or Al-Mutasim Billah al-Qadhafi; 18 December 1974 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, and the National Security Advisor of Libya from 2008 until ...

, fourth son of

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

) stating that she had "failed to distance herself from her comments on the conflict in Libya."

Acting

Hessler appeared in the 2005 film '' Christmas in Miami'' (Italian: ''Natale a Miami''), along with

Christian De Sica Christian De Sica (; born 5 January 1951) is an Italian actor, comedian, television presenter, and filmmaker. Life De Sica was born in Rome, the second son of Italian director Vittorio De Sica and Spanish actress María Mercader. His first ...

, and consequently her popularity soared. She plays Greek princess, Irina, in the 2008 ''

Asterix at the Olympic Games ''Asterix at the Olympic Games'' is the 12th comic book album in the Asterix series. Serialized in Pilote issues 434–455 in 1968 (to coincide with the Mexico City Olympics), it was translated into English in 1972 (to coincide with the Muni ...

'' (French: ''Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques''), a film that also stars

Clovis Cornillac Clovis Cornillac (born 16 August 1968) is a French actor, film director, and screenwriter. Life and career Clovis Cornillac was born to actors Myriam Boyer and Roger Cornillac. He started studying theatre at the age of 14. He made his debut ...

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

, and

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

. She also plays the leading female role in '' For A Night of Love'' (Italian: ''Per una notte d'amore''), which was filmed in Italy and released in 2008 as a two-part TV special, likewise in '' Cenerentola'' (2011) and '' One Thousand and One Nights: Aladdin and Sherazade'' (2012) (Italian: ''Le mille e una notte: Aladino e Sherazade'').

Personal life

Hessler said that she had a "very beautiful love story" over a four-year period with

, one of the sons of

, who was killed with his father following a U.N.-sanctioned airstrike and rebel ambush on Gaddafi's convoy in Libya, also in 2011. Hessler also stated the West had made a mistake in backing the rebels who ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year reign. "We, France and the United Kingdom, financed the rebels but people don't know what they are doing," Hessler told Italian magazine ''Diva e Donna'', adding that she was disgusted by what happened in Libya and that "the Gaddafi family is not how they are being depicted, they are normal people". Hessler is Catholic but considers herself a non-practicing believer. She had a daughter, born on November 25, 2015, with her partner, producer Gianni Nunnari.https://www.oggi.it/gossip/gallery/vanessa-hessler-incinta-le-foto-social-della-sua-gravidanza/

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hessler, Vanessa 1988 births Living people Italian emigrants to the United States Italian female models American actresses American female models Italian people of American descent Actresses from Rome Catholics from Washington, D.C. Italian Roman Catholics Models from Rome 21st-century American women 21st-century Italian women