Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (born 24 January 1977) is a Swiss television hostess, actress, model and singer.
Hunziker was born in Sorengo (Lugano), in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Her mother Ineke is Dutch; her father Rudolf, who died of a heart attack in the fall of 2001, was a German-speaking Swiss national. He was a painter, but worked as a hotel manager. In 1983, the family moved to Ostermundigen, a suburb of Bern in the German speaking part of Switzerland. In Ostermundigen Hunziker attended elementary school. After moving to Milan with her mother, she decided to become a fashion model and was hired by Riccardo Gay, a renowned agent. Although considered to be both too heavy and short, at 17 she posed for well-known labels such as Armani, Rocco Barocco, La Perla, Colmar, Fuerte Ventura, Lovable and Swish.
Being Eros Ramazzotti's fiancée, she was discovered by a Italian TV producer. In 1996, she co-hosted 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. At the same time she wanted to extend her artistic abilities. Therefore she attended the professional academy M.A.S. in Milan with her choreographer Susanna Beltrami.
Eros Luciano Walter Ramazzotti (born October 28, 1963), known simply as Eros Ramazzotti, is an Italian musician and singer-songwriter. Ramazzotti is enormously popular in Italy, and is well known in most non-English-speaking European countries and in the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in both Italian and Spanish.
Since 1984, he has released 11 studio albums, one EP, three compilation albums, three live albums, and 37 singles. Ramazzotti has sold over 40 million records in his 25-year career. His repertory includes duets with artists such as Cher, Tina Turner, Andrea Bocelli, Patsy Kensit, Anastacia, Joe Cocker, Ricardo Arjona, Luciano Pavarotti, Laura Pausini, and Ricky Martin.
Ramazzotti first gained international success in 1993, with the release of Tutte storie, which amassed six million album sales and occupied the top five in every country where he had previously released albums. This success led to a BMG International record contract in 1994. His audience appeal comes from several factors, including his unique voice, which can be described as somewhat nasal but nevertheless forceful and resonant, and his energetic delivery of catchy, melodic tunes which are often passionate mid-tempo autobiographical ballads, with instrumentation that is rich in soft-rock influence. Most of his albums have been recorded in both Italian and Spanish.