Top 10 celebrities born in Rome

Top 10 celebrities born in Rome

Colosseum
Image: Wikimedia

Rome, Italy. The home of the famous Roman Empire. The home of the famous colosseum, amazing architecture, food the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and so many other things. Apart from history and the fact that it is a beautiful holiday destination, Rome is also home to some world-renowned celebrities. Did you know that any of the following ten celebrities were born in Rome? Read on to discover!

1. Joel McHale

Image: Wikimedia

McHale is a popular actor and comedian. You might know him from Spy Kids, Will & Grace, The Community, Ted, The Happy Murders, and Spider-Man II among others he also wrote for The Soup which airs on E! Before his life in showbiz, McHale was an athlete, who joined the rowing team at the University of Washington then joined the Washington Huskies Football Team.  

He was born Joel Edward McHale to Laurie, a Canadian and Jack McHale, an American born living in Rome; on November 20th, 1971. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and sons.

2. Julius Caesar

Image: Wikimedia Commons

I don’t know about you, but this guy is a celebrity in his own right. He is known all over the world, even though he walked the earth before any of us was born! Julius Caesar was born in July 11 BC and died in March of 44 BC! He is credited as being one of the most famous military minds of all time. A politician- a dictator, but one who left an impact. He was killed during the Ides of March in 44BC and his death sparked civil war and also led to the birth of the Roman Empire! Interesting. 

3. Sofia Loren

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Sofia Loren is a film star, born and raised in Italy. She was born on 20th September 1934 and was originally known as Sofia Villani Scicolone. She changed her name to Lazzaro and later to Loren. She started as an extra in films, and her career took a turn when she met her husband who helped her navigate the world of film. She started with small comedies and later landed the title role in 1953 when she did ‘Aida’. With the husband’s help, she was able to go on to Hollywood where she has so far appeared in films such as Houseboat, Two Women, The Key, My House is Full of Mirrors, Nine, Marriage, the Italian Style among others. She also won an Oscar Award in 1991 and won the Venice Film Festival in 1998, and in 2010, she also won the Premium Imperiale a Japan Art Association award for film and Theater!

4. Isabella Rossellini 

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Isabella was born Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovani Rossellini, on June 18th, 1952. She doubles up as a model and an author. She has also been listed as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman twice by People’s Magazine. She grew up in a family of filmmakers and therefore was introduced to the trade very early in life. Her mother, a Russian actress even won the Oscar Awards several times and her father was a film director. She has landed roles in both Italy and the USA where she has been living since 1979. Some of her incredible works include ‘Death Becomes Her’, ‘Crime of the Century’ as well as ‘Blue Velvet’ among others. Empire Magazine named her as one of the 100 sexiest Stars in film and as mentioned, she has been a model and was the face of Lancôme for almost 15 years! She is also big in the conservancy world and is a member and champion of Wildlife Conservation Network.

5. Giada de Laurentiis 

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It would be a shame to have a list of celebrities from Italy and have none who is a chef! Giada Pamela di Laurentiis is a popular face on TV; especially Food Network for those who love cooking shows. I have watched her show ‘Giada at Home’ many times. She is a talented chef! She was born in Rome, Italy on 22nd August 1970. The very charismatic Italian chef has worked in various restaurants in Los Angeles before being approached by the Food Network to start her program. She began by hosting a show which catapulted her into winning an Emmy Award, ‘Everything Italian’. She got into the Culinary Hall of Fame in 2012! Interesting! The chef, who moved with her family to the USA when she was a young girl is now also an author, her book Weeknights which was a New York Best Seller as well as a book Giada at Home. She has had a catering company, GLD Foods, and has a restaurant in Las Vegas called GIADA. You should check out her show!

6. Simionetta Stefanelli 

Image: Wikipedia

Have you encountered Mario Puzo’s novel ‘The Godfather’? Then that means you have interacted with Apollonia Vitelli–Corleone. Simonetta Stefanelli acted as Apollonia in the movie ‘The Godfather, and she did so well, that Hollywood moviemakers wanted her to take more roles. She was however quite worried that she would be given roles that would paint her as a sex symbol and she was not comfortable with that so she did not take the roles. She instead chose to remain in Italy and has done other movies like ‘Moses the Lawgiver’, ‘The Big Family’, as well as ‘The King is the Best Mayor’. She married her husband who is an Italian movie director and even though they are divorced, have a daughter who took up acting like her mother!

7. Allison Miller

Image: 13ReasonsWhy wiki-fandom

She is an American-Italian actress, best known for her roles in ‘Terra-Nova’ as well as appearances in ’13 Reasons Why’. She was born in Italy on September, 2nd 1985, and grew up in the USA where she has had all of her performances. Her university school life started at Boston University and she later moved to Rhodes College and then the University of Florida where she dropped out to pursue acting in Los Angeles. She has done very well for herself.  

8. Alessandro Michele 

Image: Wikimedia

Fashion. Gucci. Remember the guy who showed up to the Met Gala in 2019 holding his head? Yes, that’s Jared Leto, a superstar who took up Alessandro’s fashion aesthetic. Alessandro has been the creative director for Gucci since 2015! But that was not his first stint at Gucci since he was taken up by the brand in 2002 and has since served in different capacities since then. He has elevated the Gucci brand to great heights with his creativity and touch of class. Since he became the Creative Director, the brand has had amazing success and has grown. Before joining Gucci, he worked at Les Copains, Fendi with Karl Lagerfeld, and Tom Ford. 

9. Francesco Totti

Image: Wikipedia

We are in the heart of Europe. This celebrity list would be incomplete without some football or soccer action. Born on the 27th of September 1976, Francesco has always been a big fan of football since he was a young boy. He joined Roma FC when he was just 13! Fun fact about Totti is that he is probably the only player to have played for one team throughout his football career! He has been a striker and a midfielder for his team, been part of the team when Italy won in Germany during the 2006 World Cup and has been the youngest captain of a football club! Legend. 

10. Ennio Morricone 

Image: Wikimedia CommonsMusic is food to the soul, right. Our other celebrity is Ennio Morricone, an award-winning composer, conductor, and orchestrator who has bagged an Academy Award. He was born a musician; his father introduced him to music reading at a very tender age and he wrote his first one at the age of six. I mean, throughout his life, he has produced over 500 scores and over 100 classical compositions!