Belén Rodríguez

Early life

Belén was born on 20 September 1984 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. to Gustavo Rodríguez and Veronica Cozzani de Rodríguez. Veronica, of Italian origin, is the daughter of immigrants from La Spezia in Liguria. Belén has a younger brother, Jeremías, and a younger sister, Cecilia. At the age of 10, Belén moved to Pilar with her family. She graduated from high school in December 2001 at the age of 17, and later enrolled in the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, but did not complete her studies because of ever-increasing career commitments, first undertaken in late 2000 when she was 16. She started her career as a model, initially in Argentina and then internationally. Her younger sister, Cecilia (born on 18 March 1990 in Pilar, Argentina), has also been active in Italian show business since 2008 and as a model. Since 2014, Cecilia has been Belén's business partner. Since 2015, Jeremías, Gustavo and Veronica have lived in Milan.

Personal life

From 2004 to December 2008 Belén was the girlfriend of Marco Borriello, at that time a footballer for A.C. Milan. From January 2009 to April 2012 Belén was in a relationship with Fabrizio Corona; they broke up when she met the dancer Stefano De Martino, her future first husband, on 9 April 2013. She had a son, Santiago, with De Martino; the couple were married on 20 September 2013; on 22 December 2015, they separated. De Martino and Belén were legally divorced on 24 January 2017 when they signed a judicial agreement at the Court of Milan; as part of this divorzio breve (fast-track divorce), De Martino was ordered to pay one thousand euros every month to his son Santiago until he reaches majority; the divorce legally went into force six months later. To avoid a lengthy public trial, De Martino neither demanded nor received money from his former wife, and he is not required to pay money to her. Their son lives with Belén.

Career

Since 2004, Belén has lived in Italy, where she has hosted variety shows, appeared in television commercials, films, and television programs. Considered a sex symbol of the 2000s and 2010s, Belén posed in Italy for Playboy and several nude calendars. The tabloid press in Italy and abroad have closely followed her career and private life.

The international press nicknamed her "the Rioplatense Sophia Loren" and "the Italian Sara Carbonero". In February 2011 Belén hosted the Sanremo Music Festival, one of the most important shows in Europe; she was the third Argentinian host of the music festival after Valeria Mazza and Lola Ponce. During her long career, Belén has worked with many important Italian television personalities, including Gerry Scotti, Maria De Filippi, Paolo Bonolis, Michelle Hunziker and Gianni Morandi.

Model

Belén began her career in 2001 at the age of 17 as a model in Argentina, Miami, and Mexico. She became the spokesperson for several lines of intimate wear and posed for important magazine covers, continuing in Italy beginning in 2004. Between 2004 and 2008 Belén took part in Milan fashion shows for spring/summer collections of Pin-Up Star, and worked for other fashion houses such as Miss Sixty, Taglia 42, Cotonella, and Yamamay. In the autumn of 2007, she had the main role, alongside Elisabetta Canalis and Christian De Sica, in the television commercials of TIM as Donna dei Sogni (Dream Woman). The collaboration between Belén and TIM continued until February 2011. Starting in January 2008 Belén worked as a model and spokesperson at the fashion shows of John Richmond, Pitti, Vanitas, Jadea, Trendy Too and other brands in Florence, Rome, Naples, and Milan. She then worked as a model, spokesperson, and businesswoman with Cotril (a chain of hair and beauty salons), Jadea (an intimate wear brand), and Imperfect (a clothing brand). From January 2012 she was the spokesperson for the jewellery firm 2Jewels and the technology firm Linkdem. In February 2012 Belén posed nude for the cover of the Italian edition of Vanity Fair, causing quite a stir. In July 2012 she posed nude for the cover of the Italian edition of GQ, photographed by Douglas Kirkland, which also aroused much interest. In May 2013 she became a spokesperson (with Gerry Scotti) for the "marriage" between Barilla and McDonald's. She then debuted as a stylist for the clothing line Imperfect with Fabio Castelli. In June 2013 Belén became the spokesperson for the cruise wear line Bikini Lovers created by fashion blogger Chiara Biasi.

In October 2013 Belén and Cecilia presented the 2013–2014 fashion line of Imperfect as models and stylists. In December 2013 Belén was the spokesperson for Javier Zanetti's Pupi Foundation, and she became the spokesperson (with Stefano De Martino, at that time her first husband) for the virtual application software created by WeChat. As models and designers, in February 2014 Belén and Cecilia presented the third fashion line of Imperfect. In Spring 2014 Belén posed for the cover of SportWeek, garnering positive acclaim. In that same period she designed and produced, along with Cecilia, the clothes for the new beachwear line called Me Fui for the summer of 2014. At that time Belén became the spokesperson for Samsung's mobile phones. In the spring and summer of 2014 she was model and spokesperson (with Stefano De Martino, at that time her first husband) for Richmond Perfumes. In January 2015 definitely ended the professional relationship, which began ten years ago, between Belén and Milan fashion shows for John Richmond in favor of the Venezuelan model Mariana Rodríguez assisted by Paola Benegas (who ten years earlier had launched Belen in the world of fashion: this news caused a sensation at the Italian press for this reason, but also because of the alleged relationship, that in reality does not exist, between "the two Rodríguez" launched by the agency of Paola Benegas at Milan fashion shows of Richmond, that are Belén and Mariana). Belen in September 2016 lost Vanitas line in favour to Madalina Ghenea.

In the summer of 2005, Belén posed for the first time naked for the Vuemme Calendar 2006 (published in late 2005 for the year 2006) of which she was the only model. In the autumn of 2005 Belén posed naked for the De Nardi Calendar 2006 (published in late 2005 for the year 2006) along with three models (Eva Collini, Nena Ristić, and Ainett Stephens). In the summer of 2006 Belén posed naked for the Fer Calendar 2007 (published in late 2006 for the year 2007), in which she was the only model. In the summer of 2007 Rodríguez posed naked for the Maxim Calendar 2008 (published in late 2007 for the year 2008), in which she was the only model. In the summer of 2008 she posed naked for the Max Calendar 2009 (published in late 2008 for the year 2009), in which she was the only model. In the autumn of 2009 Belén posed naked with her sister Cecilia for Max Calendar 2010 (published in late 2009 for the year 2010) arousing much interest (partly because this nude calendar featured Cecilia's modelling debut). Between late 2009 and early 2010 Vuemme published a Calendar Vuemme 2010 with Belén as the only model; this calendar, a reprint of the previous one (2006), was successful because Belén's reputation had grown in the intervening four years. In the summer of 2010 Belén posed for the Maxim glamour calendar for the year 2011. In the autumn of 2010 Belén posed for the TIM glamour calendar for the year 2011; after January 2011, because of her position has host of the 61st Festival of Sanremo, Belén ended her participation in the calendars.

In the summer of 2009, Belén won acclaim from the Italian public because she posed naked for Number 7 (July/August 2009) of Playboy Italia (the Italian edition of Playboy). On 18 February 2009 Belén declared in an interview with Corriere della Sera that a few years before she had rejected a proposal to pose nude for the cover of Playboy Miami, preferring to remain in Italy to pose for a fashion shoot for an Emilian company. In July 2012 the Italian tabloids reported that the US edition of Playboy had plans to contact Belén to pose naked for the cover and centerfold of the August issue, but subsequently this news was denied.

In the summer of 2013 the Italian press announced Belén was to receive through the agency of Paola Benegas several job offers from the international lingerie brand Victoria's Secret, but it came to nothing. Between 2004 and 2012 Belén took part as a model in the successful evening events program Sfilata d'amore e moda, hosted by Emanuela Folliero on Rete 4. In the spring and summer of 2015 the experience of Me Fui was repeated successfully, causing a sensation in the Italian media when Paul Marciano to chose Belén as its flagship model and the new worldwide spokesperson for Guess? (a role previously entrusted to celebrities such as Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Lima, and Paris Hilton) alongside the current spokespersons Charlotte McKinney and Gigi Hadid; specifically, Paul Marciano chose Belén for the spring–summer of the 2016 season (photo taken in October 2015) and the autumn–winter of 2016–2017 season (photo taken in April 2016). In the spring–summer of 2016 Belén and her sister Cecilia successfully repeated the experience of Me Fui.

Singer

In the spring of 2007 the singer Taiyo Yamanouchi, during the run of Tintoria on Rai 3, proposed to Belén an exclusive contract to launch her toward a potential musical career, but she (who was Taiyo Yamanouchi's partner in the conduction of that program) rejected the offer, preferring to continue her career as model, showgirl, and actress. In the autumn of 2007 Belén played, with Claudia Galanti, the female lead in the videoclip Boyfriend, released in 2008 as part of rapper Coolio's Steal Hear album .

In the summer of 2009 Rodríguez made her debut as singer with the song Dai muovi muovi, written by Mario Gardini and composed by Giovanni Paolo Fontana and Roberto De Luca, the theme song of the Sarabanda's edition hosted by Belén on Canale 5. In February 2010 Belén debuted, as a singer contestant, at the Teatro Ariston with Aeroplani, a single by Toto Cutugno that she also sang at the 2010 Sanremo Festival in a duet with Cutugno. In February 2015, during the Sanremo's Festival, Belén, using the stage name of Maria Belén, released the single Amarti è folle, written and arranged by Fortunato Zampaglione for the soundtrack of the film Non c'è due senza te.

Actress

In the summer of 2010 Belén made her debut as an actress as the female lead in the filming of the cinepanettone Natale in Sudafrica, directed by Neri Parenti and released on 17 December 2010. In the autumn of 2010 she played the female lead in the feature film Se sei così, ti dico sì directed by Eugenio Cappuccio and released on 15 April 2011. In the autumn of 2010 she appeared as the female lead in the episode Il campo del vasaio of the Rai 1 television series Il commissario Montalbano, which aired for the first time on 14 March 2011. In the 2011–2012 season Belén was a guest star in a few episodes of the second season of Così fan tutte, an Italia 1 sitcom directed by Gianluca Fumagalli. In the spring of 2012 Belén debuted as a dubbing voice in the animated film Gladiatori di Roma, directed by Iginio Straffi and released on 18 October 2012. In the summer of 2014 she played the female lead in the feature film Non c'è 2 senza te, directed by Massimo Cappelli and released on 5 February 2015. In August 2015 Lux Vide and RAI Fiction announced Belén's role as guest star in the tenth season of the Rai 1 television series Don Matteo; the episode with Belén, titled La colpa, was first aired on 7 January 2016).

Businesswoman

In 2011, Belén launched two perfumes: Belén Rodríguez (Gold) and Belén Rodríguez (Eau de Parfum). In January 2014 the well-known Italian business weekly Il Mondo announced that Belén, along with her sister Cecilia, was launching a limited liability company, called The Family Factor, to oversee the family's multiple business activities in Italy in the areas of fashion, real estate, public relations, clothing, beauty salons, entertainment, catering, and other ventures. In early 2014 the editor Arnoldo Mondadori Editore published a photobook entitled Bella Belén. In June 2015 Belén opened a new restaurant in Milan (specifically the historian localnamed Ricci situated in Piazza della Repubblica) with the judge of MasterChef Italia Joe Bastianich and two other partners, Luca Guelfi and Simona Miele, the holders of Petit Bistrot in Miami and Milan). At around the same time she ushered the beauty salons of Cotril, an Italian company for which Belén is spokesperson and business partner. On 2 September 2015 the Ricci received a good review in the Food section of the The New York Times, causing a stir in the Italian media.

From 2013 to 2015 Belén funded some entrepreneurial initiatives by Stefano De Martino, at that time her first husband, that ended up being unsuccessful; these failures, according to Chi, are among the reasons leading to their separation in December 2015. For example, in October 2014 Belén Rodríguez and De Martino founded a chain of clothing stores in Milan named 4store. Following initial success, in mid-2015 the chain was expanded to the area around Milan but failed later that year.

Showgirl

Belén has worked in Italy as a fashion model and a variety show host. Her debut as a showgirl and television host dates back to November 2006, with the programs of Tele Boario 1, the local television network of Val Camonica. After having signed with Paola Benegas as her first agent in Italy, in the spring of 2007 Belén debuted on Italian national television, hosting, with the singer Taiyo Yamanouchi, the late-night comedy show La tintoria on Rai 3 (during this show Yamanouchi urged her to start a career as a singer, an idea she rejected, saying she preferred to stay in the television industry). In the summer of 2007 Belén hosted, with Fabrizio Frizzi, the prime time variety show called the Circo Massimo Show. In the autumn of 2007 Belén, with Lucia Ocone, co-hosted, with Max Giusti, the late-night variety show Stile libero Max on Rai 2. At the end of 2007 Belén appeared in several episodes as a participant and as a journalist for Videonews in Verissimo, the entertainment news program hosted by Silvia Toffanin on Saturday afternoon on Canale 5. Belén appeared as a showgirl in the episode of 4 April 2008 (during which she introduced her sister Cecilia, who was 18 years old at that time, in her Italian television debut) of the prime time variety show I raccomandati, hosted by Carlo Conti and Alessia Ventura on Rai 1. In the spring of 2008 Belén appeared as a journalist and co-host (with Selvaggia Lucarelli and others), in Pirati, a late-night television program on Rai 2. In the summer of 2008 Belén appeared as a showgirl and a journalist for Videonews with Aida Yespica, Melita Toniolo and others, in the Italia 1 television program Lucignolo . In the autumn of 2008, after modeling for Max magazine a few months previously, Belén appeared in the eighth season of L'isola dei famosi, a reality show aired by Rai 2 and hosted by Simona Ventura. Belén won second place, arousing considerable interest in the Italian television audience; according to Italian television critics, this event was the "turning point" in her career, marking the beginning of her becoming "a big celebrity". In December 2008 Belén joined the cast of the agency's artists Arcobaleno Tre of Lucio Presta; this news was covered widely in the Italian press because Lucio Presta was the agent of Paolo Bonolis and Roberto Benigni. In the winter of 2009 Belén hosted, with Claudio Amendola and Teo Mammucari, the eleventh season of the prime time variety show Scherzi a parte on Canale 5. From 2009 to 2011 Belén appeared in television commercials advertising the mobile phone network operating companies; during this period Belén began endorsing and modeling luxury jewellery. In the summer of 2009 she was the co-host of Teo Mammucari on the Canale 5 quiz show Sarabanda, for which she had recorded the theme song. In the autumn of 2009 Mediaset offered her a contract for the 2010 year to co-host, with Mammucari, the new prime time variety show Fenomenal on Italia 1, which she rejected on the advice of her agent, Lucio Presta.

At the end of 2009, Belén was a guest star on 23 November episode in the 10th season of "Italian Big Brother", a Canale 5 reality show hosted by Alessia Marcuzzi; at around this time the Italian press launched a rumour saying that Mammucari and Rodríguez were going to be asked by Mediaset to join the cast of presenters of the 2009–2010 edition of Striscia la notizia, but Antonio Ricci (the producer of Striscia) denied this (Belén joinedStriscia as host in 2015). In the winter of 2010 Belén appeared with her sister Cecilia in the late-night variety show Chiambretti Night on Italia 1. At around this time Belén rejected the offer of Mediaset to appear with Teo Mammucari in the proposed 4th season (never realized) of Love Bugs, a sitcom aired by Italia 1, preferring, on the advice of her agent Lucio Presta, to sign a contract to work only with RAI until June 2011. Belén was a guest performer on the most prestigious televised Italian song contest, the Sanremo Music Festival, where she sang a duet with singer Toto Cutugno on 18 February 2010, to acclaim from the public and critics. At around this time, the Italian press announced Belén's upcoming participation in a movie directed by Tinto Brass, but this news turned out to be an April Fool's joke that caused a minor stir in the Italian news media.

In February 2011 Belén co-hosted the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 with Gianni Morandi and Elisabetta Canalis. In early 2012 Belén became the new face of the lingerie line Arthur's Underwear. In 2012 Belén became a co-presenter on the televised talent show Italia's Got Talent, alongside Simone Annicchiarico. In that same year, Belén performed in the 11th season of the talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi as part of the programme's regular dance troupe.

Substituting for Ivana Mrazova, Belén co-presented, along with Elisabetta Canalis, during the first two evenings of the 2012 Sanremo Music Festival.

In spring 2014 Belén hosted Come mi vorrei, an afternoon program televised by Italia 1.

In the autumn of 2016 Belén was the host of the third season of the prime time Saturday evening talent show Tú sí que vales on Canale 5; in this season Francesco Sole was replaced by Simone Rugiati as Belén's co-host,and the jury was expanded with the addition of Teo Mammucari. In this period Belén was also the guest star on L'intervista, aired by Canale 5 and then on Nemicamatissima, aired by Rai 1.

Videoclip

Singles

Google lawsuit

In 2006, Belén has been involved in a lawsuit against Google over damage claims arising from Google's indexing pornography websites that had appropriated her image.

Maldives scandal with Fabrizio Corona

The relationship of Belén with Fabrizio Corona, which began in January 2009 and ended in April 2012, has often been at the center of Italian gossip, arousing various controversies and disputes. For example, in April 2009 the paparazzi of Novella 2000 photographed Corona naked after a sexual interlude with Belén that took place in public places in the Maldives, a state in which Sharia prohibits such behavior, and this photo shoot was published in Italy on 24 April, sparking controversy.

Putting her tongue in her son's mouth

On 23 January 2013 the British newspaper Daily Mail published an article that included controversial reactions to a video Belén had posted on Instagram. The video showed Belén putting her tongue into the mouth of her 3-year-old son briefly. Filmed in a restaurant, it appears she may have been licking whip cream off of his face. Viewers left various comments, some criticising the act as shameful, while others not finding anything inappropriate in it. The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on the controversy and the notoriety it had given Belén in Britain.