Alessandra Mussolini
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Alessandra Mussolini (born 30 December 1962) is an Italian politician, television personality, model and former actress and singer. Mussolini has been a member of both houses of the Italian Parliament as well as the European Parliament. She is also known for being a member of the Mussolini family as a granddaughter of Benito Mussolini.<ref name="WaPo_2019-04-01" /><ref name="NBC_2019-04-01">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CBS_2019-04-01">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="quartz_2019-04-01">Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2022, she has been a Member of the European Parliament for Forza Italia.
Mussolini first gained fame through acting and modelling. In 1982, as a singer, she released a city pop album entitled Amore. Mussolini starred in her final film in 1990 and left the industry after a producer asked her to change her name.
In 2004, she became the first woman to lead a political party in Italy when she founded the national conservative political party Social Action.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> She was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013 and the Italian Senate from 2013 to 2014 where she was elected under The People of Freedom which later became part of Forza Italia. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2014.<ref name="chamberSite">Deputati – MUSSOLINI Alessandra Template:Webarchive, website of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. Retrieved 23 November 2010.</ref>
Mussolini left politics temporarily in December 2020 for a reality television career.<ref name="newtv" /> She returned as an MEP in November 2022, succeeding Antonio Tajani, after he was appointed in the Meloni government.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early and personal life
[edit]Alessandra Mussolini was born in Rome, the daughter of Romano Mussolini, the fourth child of Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943, and Marianna Pia Villani Scicolone (born 11 May 1938, Rome). Actress Sophia Loren is her maternal aunt. She has a half-sister, Rachele Mussolini, who is also a politician as a member of Brothers of Italy.
From 1976 to 1980 she went to high school at the American Overseas School of Rome. She graduated in 1994 from Sapienza University of Rome, where she got her Master of Science in medicine and surgery.
She married customs policeman Mauro Floriani on 28 October 1989. Contrary to tradition, she proposed to him.<ref name=NYTimesChronicle>"Chronicle" Nadine Brozan, The New York Times, 15 November 1994.</ref> Together they have three children,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caterina, Clarissa, and Romano — the last named after his grandfather. Later, the children adopted their mother's surname, but she went through a complex legal process to allow them to do so. She has since campaigned for Italian law to be changed to allow all children to take their mother's last name if they wish.<ref name=Telegraph>"Mussolini calls for new naming law" Malcolm Moore, The Daily Telegraph, 31 May 2006</ref>
Her husband was one of the accused scheduled to appear in court for a child prostitution trial in 2015. In 2013, Floriani was one of around 50 men—among them celebrities, professionals, priests, journalists and politicians—who were accused of paying two teenage girls, aged 14 and 15, for sexual services in Rome.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wiretaps revealed he was one of the clients who contacted the girls most often. In 2015, Floriani pled guilty to soliciting the services of an underage prostitute, and received a one-year suspended sentence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
She is first cousin once-removed to Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, Benito Mussolini's great-grandson, who ran for the Fratelli d’Italia party in the 2019 European Parliament election.<ref name="italianinsider.it">Template:Cite news</ref> She considers herself Roman Catholic, although she does not attend Mass regularly.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 2001, Mussolini was involved in an altercation while filming for a Porta a Porta talk show episode on sexual harassment. She was verbally accosted by Katia Bellillo, then Minister for Equal Opportunities, who got up and approached Mussolini. In response Mussolini verbally and physically attacked Bellillo, calling her an "ugly communist" who should "go and live in Cuba."<ref name=Independent/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
She has been a painter since 2014 and her first solo exhibition was held during 2015 in Rome.<ref>Alessandra Mussolini pittrice</ref><ref>Debutto da pittrice di Alessandra Mussolini</ref>
Entertainment career
[edit]Mussolini was taken under the wing of her aunt Sophia Loren for a while and started a career as an actress in the Italian film industry during the 1970s. A Special Day (1977), in which she had a minor role as "Maria Luisa," won an American Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
During 1982, Mussolini released a pop music album of romantic songs under the title Amore on Alfa Records; the album was released only in Japan and has since become something of a collectors item.<ref name=Orrore>Template:Cite news</ref>
Mussolini also appeared as a glamour model,<ref name=BBC20040109>Template:Cite news</ref> including on the cover of two European editions of Playboy, in Italy (August 1983) and Germany (November 1983).<ref name=PBCoversIT>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=PBCoversDE>Template:Cite news</ref> "When you are an actress, you are dealing with the body. Every actress does topless and stuff like this; you have to," she has said.<ref name=Independent/>
Mussolini continued as an actress into the 1980s. Some of the films she featured in were made for Italian television. However, she still acted in standard cinematic films, such as The Assisi Underground in which she played a nun; the movie focused on the Roman Catholic Church rescuing Italian Jews from the Nazis in 1943.<ref name=IMDBAssisi>Template:Cite news</ref> She starred in her final film in 1990 and then left the film industry to continue studying after a producer asked her to change her name.<ref name=Independent>Template:Cite news Also archived at FindArticles.com as "Mussolini In Stilettos" by Susan Chenery.</ref>
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| Amore |
|
Singles
[edit]| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Love is Love" | 1982 | Amore |
| "Tokyo Fantasy" |
Political career
[edit]Italian Parliament
[edit]In 1992, Alessandra Mussolini was elected to parliament in a Naples constituency as a member of the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI). After the Italian general elections of April 2008, Mussolini served as a member of the Italian parliament within Silvio Berlusconi's alliance of right wing parties, The People of Freedom.<ref name=chamberSite />
In the Italian general election of February 2013, she was elected to the Senate of the Republic as a member of The People of Freedom. The party was transformed into a new Forza Italia in November 2013.<ref>Alessandra MUSSOLINI Template:In lang Senato.it. Retrieved 21 June 2014 (archived at Webcitation)</ref> In the 2014 European Parliament election, Mussolini was elected to the EP for Forza Italia.<ref>Remi Adekoya et al (26 May 2014)Meet the new faces ready to sweep into the European parliament The Guardian.</ref>
Mayoral candidate
[edit]In 1993 Mussolini was a candidate for the post of mayor of Naples, but was defeated by Antonio Bassolino. She claimed that her relations with Gianfranco Fini, leader of the Alleanza Nazionale, never were very good; she then later withdrew, resigning over differences with him at least once.<ref name=NYTimes1996>"A Mussolini Quits Rightist Party in Italy" The New York Times, 15 November 1996.</ref> She unsuccessfully challenged him for the leadership of the party when he withdrew support for Mussolini in a television interview in January 2002.<ref name=Telegraph2002>"Alessandra Mussolini seeks leadership of Italy's far Right" by Bruce Johnston, The Daily Telegraph, 26 January 2002</ref><ref>"Mussolini to challenge party boss" Template:Webarchive, CNN, 25 January 2002</ref>
Formation of Social Action
[edit]Mussolini suddenly left the National Alliance on 28 November 2003, following the visit of party leader and the Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini to Israel, where he described fascism as part "the absolute evil" with regard to the Holocaust as he apologised for Italy's role as an Axis Power during the Second World War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mussolini, however, defended the right of Israel to exist and declared that the world "should beg forgiveness of Israel."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following her resignation, Mussolini formed her Social Action party, originally named "Freedom of Action," and organised a coalition named Social Alternative. This made her the first female leader of an Italian political party.<ref name=":0" /> The move was read in the Italian media as surprising because of Mussolini's "progressive" stances on many issues, including abortion,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> artificial insemination,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> gay rights<ref>Template:Cite web See also: Template:Cite web and Template:Cite web</ref> and civil unions.<ref>Template:Cite web See also: Template:Cite web</ref> She has been an outspoken feminist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has been described by conservative commentators as a "socialist"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a "left-winger."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
European Parliament
[edit]In the 2004 European Parliament election, Social Alternative, gained 1.2% of the electoral list vote. Mussolini herself received 133,000 preference votes.
In response to a comment made by UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom in which he said that "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age. That isn't politically correct, is it, but it's a fact of life. The more women's rights you have, it's actually a bar to their employment."<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and: "I just don't think [women] clean behind the fridge enough,"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mussolini responded by saying Template:Blockquote
In March 2005, Mussolini was banned by a local court from regional elections held the following month for presenting fraudulent signatures.<ref>"Alessandra Mussolini barred from election because of faked signatures" by John Hooper, The Guardian, 14 March 2005</ref> "This is an affront to democracy, if they're going to exclude the Social Alternative they will have to exclude all the parties, because all the signature lists are false," Mussolini told Reuters.<ref>"Mussolini’s granddaughter barred from vote" Template:Webarchive, Reuters, 13 March 2005, Tiscali News</ref> Mussolini went on a hunger strike to protest the decision.<ref>"Hunger Strike By Mussolini", Associated Press, 15 March 2005, CBS News</ref> However, at the end of the month Italy's top administrative court, the Council of State, annulled the decision and she stood for election.<ref>"Q&A: Italy regional elections", BBC News, 1 April 2005</ref>
In November 2007, remarks by Mussolini triggered the collapse of the far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty grouping within the European Parliament.<ref>"Xenophobia destroys EU's ultra-rightwing MEP group", The Guardian, 15 November 2007</ref> Mussolini declared that all Romanians were criminals in remarks regarding immigration policy. This prompted delegates from the Greater Romania Party to quit the group, bringing the group below the minimum number of members to qualify as a caucus and receive Parliamentary funding. In the 2019 European Parliament election, she lost her bid for re-election to the European Parliament.<ref name="italianinsider.it"/>
Views on social issues
[edit]In 2006, she responded to claims by the transgender Italian parliamentary candidate Vladimir Luxuria that she was a "fascist" by saying that it would be better to be a fascist than it would be to be gay.<ref>"Mussolini a Vladimir Luxuria 'Meglio fascista che frocio'", La Repubblica, 9 March 2006 Template:In lang</ref>
Her stance on homosexuality changed consistently from the late 2000s. In 2010, Mussolini condemned the Vatican's comparison of homosexuality with paedophilia, stating "You can't link sexual orientation to pedophilia … this link risks becoming dangerously misleading for the protection of children".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, she supported the anti-homophobia "Zan bill" and she refused to provide her gender information on her MEP identity card after returning to the European Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
End of political career
[edit]She left Forza Italia in 2018, following the party's decision to be in opposition to the Conte government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She has used Twitter to defend the memory of her grandfather from critics such as actor Jim Carrey, and fans of Scottish football club Celtic F.C.<ref name=WaPo_2019-04-01>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2020, she left politics for a new television career.<ref name=newtv>Template:Cite web</ref> She took part, as contestant, in Milly Carlucci's Ballando con le stelle and in Carlo Conti's Tale e quale show obtaining success.
Return to politics
[edit]In November 2022, Mussolini returned to politics to replace Antonio Tajani as a Forza Italia MEP after his election to the Chamber of Deputies.<ref name=":1" />
Filmography
[edit]Films
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | White Sister | Sister Germana (child) | |
| 1977 | A Special Day | Maria Luisa | |
| 1983 | Il tassinaro | Donatella | |
| 1985 | The Assisi Underground | Beata | |
| 1987 | Noi uomini duri | Adua | |
| Non scommettere mai con il cielo | Sister Angelica | ||
| 1990 | HaDerekh LeEin Harod | Liora |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1982 | Domenica in | Herself / Co-host | Talk show (season 6) |
| 1984 | Aurora | Bride | Television movie |
| 1986 | Ferragosto OK | Jenny | Television movie |
| 1987 | Investigatori d'Italia | Cristina Carli | Episode: "L'inafferrabile mostro del Po" |
| Giuliana Drago | Episode: "L'omicidio del banchiere Galante" | ||
| 1988 | Vivere per vincere | Fiamma | Television movie |
| 1990 | Sabato, domenica e lunedì | Giulianella | Television movie |
| 2006 | La pupa e il secchione | Herself / Judge | Reality show (season 1) |
| The Simpsons | Tammy (voice) | Episode: "The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas" | |
| 2008–2021 | Mattino Cinque | Herself / Opinionist | Talk show |
| Pomeriggio Cinque | Talk show | ||
| 2012–2021 | Domenica Live | Sunday-special talk show | |
| 2020 | Ballando con le Stelle | Herself / Contestant | Talent show (season 15) |
Electoral history
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Profile on the Italian Parliament website Template:Webarchive
- Template:MEP
- Interview with Alessandra Mussolini by Antonella Ricciardi, 19 May 2005
- Audio interview with Alessandra Mussolini from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 March 2006 (RAM format)
- Template:IMDb name
- Template:Discogs artist
- 1962 births
- Living people
- Actresses from Rome
- Deputies of Legislature XI of Italy
- Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy
- Deputies of Legislature XIII of Italy
- Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy
- Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy
- Forza Italia (2013) senators
- Forza Italia MEPs
- Italian actor-politicians
- Italian film actresses
- Italian Social Movement politicians
- J-pop singers
- Japanese-language singers of Italy
- MEPs for Italy 2004–2009
- MEPs for Italy 2014–2019
- 21st-century women MEPs for Italy
- Mussolini family
- National Alliance (Italy) politicians
- Social Alternative MEPs
- The People of Freedom politicians
- 20th-century Italian women
- Italian Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Italian women politicians
- Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)
- Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)
- Italian anti-communists
- Loren–Ponti family