Michelle Hunziker

Michelle Hunziker
Hunziker at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2018
Born	Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (1977-01-24) 24 January 1977 Sorengo, Switzerland
Citizenship	Switzerland Italy
Occupations	Television presenter actress model
Years active	1994–present
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouses	Eros Ramazzotti ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2002)​ Tomaso Trussardi ​ ​ (m. 2014; div. 2022)​
Children	3

Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (Swiss Standard German: [miˈʃɛl ˈhʊntsɪkər], Italian: [miʃˈʃɛl ˈ(h)untsiker]; 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, with distant Indonesian ancestry, and her father Rudolf, who died of a heart attack in 2001, was a German-speaking Swiss painter who worked as a hotel manager. In 1983, the family moved to Ostermundigen, a suburb of Bern in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, where Hunziker attended elementary school. After moving to Milan, Italy, with her mother, she became a fashion model and was hired by Riccardo Gay, an agent. At 17 she posed for Armani, Rocco Barocco, La Perla, Colmar, Fuerte Ventura, Lovable and Swish.

Career

As she was Eros Ramazzotti's fiancée, Hunziker was discovered by an Italian TV producer. In 1996, she presented the Rai Uno-show I cervelloni with Paolo Bonolis. In summer, she presented the prime time comedy show Paperissima Sprint (Canale 5) with Gabibbo. Because of her popularity, she hosted the afternoon show Colpo di Fulmine (Italia 1) in 1997. She attended the professional academy Music Art & Show in Milan with her choreographer Susanna Beltrami.

In 1998, the Italian film director Vincenzo Verdecchi offered Hunziker her first film role in the TV series La Forza dell'Amore (Canale 5). Afterwards she took the leading female role in Fammi stare sotto al letto. She was also in the documentary The Protagonist and in another film, Alex l'Ariete, where she acted with ex-skiing star Alberto Tomba. Hunziker and Pippo Baudo hosted the Canale 5 show La festa del Disco. From 1999 to 2001, she presented the late-night show Nonsolomoda (Canale 5) where she reported about fashion and lifestyle.

In 1999, TV3, the first Swiss private television station, was founded in Zürich, and Hunziker hosted a show called Cinderella, where a hair and make-up artist, as well as a styling adviser, helped both a celebrity and a viewer have a makeover. After the first episode, Hunziker was caught in the crossfire. The Swiss newspaper Blick even wrote: "Cinderella, TV3's new lifestyle show is not bad. It is catastrophic". Later, Hunziker was interviewed by the Swiss-German magazine Schweizer Illustrierte and said that she could not speak German anymore after having lived in Italy for many years. After TV3 had changed the concept, the show became more popular.

After hosting the Swiss show Cinderella, Hunziker was discovered by German TV producers. In 1998, she presented the Goldene Kamera awards show with Thomas Gottschalk (a very well-known presenter in Germany). A year later, she co-hosted the show Michael Jackson & Friends (ZDF) in Munich. After she had been on various talk shows, she presented her first in Germany: Erstes Glück (SWR/Das Erste). She co-hosted the show with Thomas Elstner and interviewed celebrities about their first love. The show was not very popular though and ultimately axed. When she returned to Italy, she presented the shows Donna sotto le stelle and Piazza di Spagna (Canale 5) with Gerry Scotti and Tacchi a spillo (Italia 1) with Claudio Lippi. In 2002–2004, Hunziker and Carsten Spengemann presented the first and second season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of the British TV show Pop Idol.

Hunziker hosting Striscia la notizia alongside Ezio Greggio in 2012

Hunziker joined ZDF's Wetten, dass..?, Germany's most popular TV show in October 2009. The show was also syndicated live on the Austrian ORF and SF1 in her native Switzerland.

In 2006, she released an album in English, Lole, that was available only in German-speaking countries; the only single off the album was "From Noon Till Midnight".

Hunziker co-hosted the Italian comedy shows Zelig (Italia 1) and Scherzi a parte (Canale 5) in 2001. Zelig is one of the most famous Italian TV shows. Later that year, she received the Italian TV Oscar in the category "Discovery of the Year". She also co-hosted the Italian open-air music show Festivalbar with Daniele Bossari and Alessia Marcuzzi.

She has also starred in the musicals directed by Saverio Marconi The Sound of Music (playing the role of Maria von Trapp) and Cabaret (playing the role of Sally Bowles); both had huge success in Italy.

In 2007, Hunziker and Pippo Baudo hosted the Italian song contest, the Festival di Sanremo, on Rai Uno. Later, she co-hosted Striscia la notizia again with Ezio Greggio and Paperissima with Gerry Scotti.

In 2018, she hosted the Sanremo Music Festival on Rai 1 with Claudio Baglioni and Pierfrancesco Favino In 2020, she appeared in a video posted by Mimmo Modem, with the renowned neomelodic song by Niko Pandetta, Marco Calone and Pino Franzese called "Danza".

Personal life

Hunziker in 2006

Hunziker was married to Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti from 1998. They separated in 2002 and divorced in 2009. She acquired Italian citizenship through this marriage. The marriage produced a daughter.

Hunziker announced her engagement to the Trussardi-heir Tomaso Trussardi in 2013. The couple have two daughters together.

In 2017, Hunziker announced that she blamed a cult for her divorce from Ramazzotti. She said that the cult tried to persuade her that he was a bad influence on her and to isolate her from her family. This statement caused an outcry in Italy.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Voglio stare sotto al letto	Paola
	The Protagonists	Sue
2000	Alex l'ariete	Leva Bottazzi
2005	Madagascar	Gloria (voice)	Italian dub
2007	Natale in crociera	Michela Bacci
2008	Natale a Rio	Linda Vita
2009	Natale a Beverly Hills	Serena
2011	Amore nero	Laura	Short film
2017	Super vacanze di Natale	Various	Anthology film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	I misteri di Cascina Vianello	Gaia	Episode: "Un matrimonio e un funerale"
1998	La forza dell'amore	Tiziana	Miniseries
2004	Love Bugs	Michelle	Main role (season 1)
2018–2019	Idol x Warrior Miracle Tunes	Goddess of Music	Recurring role

Television programs

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994–1995	Buona Domenica	Contestant	Variety show (season 7)
1995	Mai dire Gol	Co-host	Comedy program (season 6)
1995–1996	Numero Uno	Reporter	Game show (season 2)
1996	I cervelloni	Co-host	Game show (season 3)
1997	Paperissima Sprint	Presenter	Comedy program (season 3)
1997–1998	Colpo di fulmine	Presenter	Reality show (season 3)
1999	La Partita del Cuore	Presenter	Special
2000–2003, 2014	Zelig	Co-host	Variety show (seasons 5–7, 17)
2001	Tacchi a spillo	Co-host	Talent show
2002	Scherzi a parte	Co-host	Prank/candid camera program (season 7)
	Festivalbar 2002	Co-host	Annual music festival
2003	Superstar	Presenter	Talent show (season 2)
	Festivalbar 2003	Co-host	Annual music festival
2004–present	Striscia la notizia	Presenter	Variety show (seasons 17–present)
2004–2013	Paperissima	Presenter	Comedy program (seasons 9–13)
2005	Chi ha incastrato lo zio Gerry?	Co-host	Comedy program
2006, 2008	Telegatto	Presenter	Annual ceremony
2007	Sanremo Music Festival 2007	Co-host	Annual music festival
2012–2013	Striscia la domenica	Presenter	Sunday version of Striscia la notizia
2016	Bocelli & Zanetti Night	Presenter	Special
	House Party	Guest host	Variety show, episode 2
2018	Vuoi scommettere?	Presenter	Variety show
2019	Amici Celebrities	Guest host	Talent show (replacing Maria De Filippi for 3 episodes)
2019–present	All Together Now	Presenter	Talent show
2021	All Together Now Kids	Presenter	Talent show
2022	Michelle Impossible	Presenter	Variety show
2022	LOL - Last One Laughing (Germany)	Candidate	Comedy show

External links

• Official website
• Michelle Hunziker at IMDb
• Michelle Hunziker at Fashion Model Directory