Eva Riccobono

Riccobono hosted the opening and closing nights of the 70th Venice International Film Festival, with Bernardo Bertolucci as president.

Eva Riccobono (born 7 February 1983) is an Italian model, actress, and television presenter.

Riccobono was born in Palermo, Sicily, the daughter of an Italian father and a German mother.

She has three older sisters.

Riccobono began modeling in Sicily before moving to Milan at the age of 18, where she pursued her fashion career and appeared in two Italian music videos.

In 2002 she made her television debut after being scouted by Fiorello for his RAI show Stasera Pago Io ("Tonight I'll Pay"), which hosted many international stars such as Joe Cocker, Lenny Kravitz and Celine Dion.

Riccobono was first photographed by Marco Glaviano, who saw her in Sicily.

In 2002 she entered a contract with Dolce & Gabbana which gave her the D&G S/S 2003 campaign shot by Mario Testino alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Riccobono debuted in television as a presenter in the 2002 program Stasera Pago Io alongside Fiorello.

Seven years later, Fiorello called her for another of his show, Il Più Grande Spettacolo Dopo il Weekend ("The Greatest Show After The Weekend").

Then Bruce Weber photographed her for the 2003 Pirelli Calendar.

She has since modelled for designers such as Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferré, Emanuel Ungaro and many others.

She has worked for photographers including Miles Aldridge, David Bailey, Gilles Bensimon, Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Paolo Roversi and Ellen von Unwerth posing for the covers of Elle, Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair in their international editions.

She walked for the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Balmain, Fendi, Alberta Ferretti, Jeremy Scott, Vivienne Westwood and many mores.

She appeared featured in campaigns for Chanel beauty, Sonia Rykiel, L'Oreal, Gianfranco Ferré, Trussardi, Celine, La Perla to name a few.

In 2004, she starred in the short film Eva, by Italian artist and filmmaker Valerio Rocco Orlando, a conceptual story shot on the Hudson River.

From 2004 to 2005 Riccobono lived, worked and studied in New York City.

She currently resides between London and Milan with her boyfriend, sound designer Matteo Ceccarini.

Her first movie role came aged 25 in 2008 Carlo Verdone's comedy Grande, Grosso e Verdone ("Big, Large and Verdone").

In this film she portrays Blanche, the main character's dream woman.

Riccobono posed for Lavazza Calendar 2009, with photographs of Annie Leibovitz.

During the 2011 Cannes Film Festival Riccobono walked for the fund-raising show Fashion for Relief, founded by friend Naomi Campbell and Franca Sozzani to benefit victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

When she was famous as a model, Riccobono was hosted by television programmes on MTV, Rai 1, LA 3, and in the jury of Miss Italia 2011.

She has been the face of Argentovivo campaign by Marco Glaviano, and testimonial for Swarovski in 2012.

She was also engaged to present a commercial for new Sky Channel High Life TV, about luxury and lifestyle.

She presented in 2012 a scientific divulgation programme for Rai 2 entitled Eva.

In 2012, she played the part of a toxic prostitute in And They Call It Summer, winner at the Rome Film Festival.

For her performance in Marco Ponti's A Liberal Passion, Riccobono in 2013 won a Golden Ciak for Best Supporting Actress and got a nomination for the Silver Ribbon.

In the same year she is in the movie Niente può fermarci ("Nothing Can Stop Us"), a comedy about the juvenile fears for the future.

She recently shot La Vita Oscena ("The Obscene Life"), Renato De Maria's film adaptation of the homonym tale by writer Aldo Nove.

The couple has a son, Leo, born in 2014, and a daughter, Livia, born in 2020.