Rudy Zerbi

Born in 1969 in Lodi, Lombardy, he is the illegitimate son of television presenter Davide Mengacci,^[1] who, as a young man, was briefly romantically linked to his mother by future record producer Luciana Coi, but later refused to recognize his son.^[2] Rudy learned of his father's death at the age of thirty, when his mother, who at the time was suffering from a life-threatening cancer (though she later recovered), decided to reveal it to him by showing Mengacci on television.^[3] Zerbi said that discovering his father's identity was such a shock to him that he couldn't speak for 12 days.^[4] He only met Mengacci on 3 March 2001, at a party he had been invited to by Mara Carfagna (who at the time was co-hosting Mengacci's show, La domenica del villaggio).^[5] Rudy was raised by his mother's two husbands: Roberto Zerbi – who adopted him, giving him his surname and with whom his mother had her second son, Stefano – and Giorgio Ciana, a hotelier from Santa Margherita Ligure (who died in March 2018), with whom his mother had her third son, Piergiorgio.^[6]

At the age of three, he moved to Santa Margherita Ligure, where his family ran a hotel.^[7] At a young age, he decided to pursue his passion for music, becoming a disc jockey at the Covo di Nord Est nightclub and at Radio Tigullio.^[8] He attended a linguistic high school in Rapallo and graduated in law from the University of Milan.^[9] After some radio experience, he began working as a talent scout and record producer for Sony Music.^[10] He gained fame thanks to his witty interviews with international artists and various radio and television collaborations with the Gialappa's Band, including Rai dire Sanremo for Rai.^[11]

After sixteen years and various roles within the company (including president of the Sony Music Italy division,^[12] collaborating on various projects by Gianni Morandi, Renato Zero, Biagio Antonacci, Adriano Celentano, Mina, Ornella Vanoni, L'Aura, Alessandra Amoroso, Marco Mengoni and Giusy Ferreri), after serving as CEO, he was fired by Sony and subsequently appeared on various television programs, including Maria De Filippi's Amici and Italia's Got Talent, as a singing teacher and judge, respectively, as well as on Gerry Scotti's show The Winner Is.^[13] Since 2010, he has worked at Radio DeeJay, hosting Rudy Sunday every Sunday between 6 and 8 pm, alongside Laura Antonini.^[14] In the summers of 2011 and 2012, he also hosted Rudy Summer, a summer version of the program broadcast from Riccione's Aquafan resort. Since September 2012, he has moved to daily television, where he hosts the programme Rossi di sera every evening between 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm, always paired with Laura Antonini.

In August 2013, he returned to the morning slot, hosting the new program Rossi di sole, once again live from Aquafan in Riccione.^[15] From 7 September 2013, he returned to the weekend airwaves on Radio DeeJay, hosting Megajay alongside Laura Antonini. Since 4 October 2014, he has been a judge on Tú sí que vales, the new talent show that replaced Italia's Got Talent on Saturday nights on Canale 5.^[16] In the winter of 2016, he participated as "team captain" (along with Stefano De Martino, Attilio Fontana, Kledi Kadiu and Maurizio Zamboni) in the first season of Pequeños Gigantes, a talent show for children hosted by Belén Rodríguez on Canale 5.^[17]

In the summer of 2024, he will host live broadcasts on Radio DeeJay from Aquafan in Riccione and various free concerts in the square, along with a contest, now in its tenth edition, dedicated to the search for new talent.^[18]

He has four children from three different women. His first wife, Simona, gave birth to Tommaso and Luca, while his wife, actress Carlotta Miti (niece of singer Gianni Morandi) gave him Edoardo.^[19] He has a son, Leo, with Maria Soledad Temporini, his partner until 2021.^[20]

• Narrator in PAPmusic – Animation for Fashion