Fabio Lanzoni
Fabio Lanzoni, known mononymously as Fabio, is an Italian-American actor, fashion model, and spokesman. Lanzoni is known for his wide-ranging career including work as a romance novel cover model throughout the late 1980s into the 1990s, roles in film and television including multiple cameo appearances as himself, and music and books. He has been a spokesman for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! and the American Cancer Society.
Early life
Lanzoni was born 15 March 1959 in Milan, Italy, to Flora Carnicelli Lanzoni and Sauro Lanzoni, a mechanical engineer and owner of a conveyor-belt factory and/or company. Lanzoni has an older brother, Walter, and a younger sister, Cristina. Lanzoni's father wanted Lanzoni to become an engineer and take over the family business.During the first five years of Lanzoni's life, he was raised primarily by his grandmother, whom he has called "the most influential woman" in his life. She died of cancer when Lanzoni was 13, having kept her diagnosis a secret from the family. This death severely impacted Lanzoni, inspiring him to later become the spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.
Raised Catholic, he served as an altar boy. Lanzoni claims he was "always in trouble for breaking the rules and getting kicked out of school." At three years old, Lanzoni was hospitalized after drinking liquor from the kitchen counter; this unpleasant experience "left a lasting bad impression" and caused a lasting aversion to alcohol. He claims he first became aware of his magnetism in kindergarten, then first rode a motorbike at age eight and developed a lifelong fascination with motorcycles and dirt bikes.
Lanzoni served in the Italian Army, where he was required to shave his hair. His modelling career began when he was discovered by a photographer while working out.
Career
Lanzoni is best recognized for his appearance on the covers of hundreds of romance novels. In 2015, while describing his career, Lanzoni told The Guardian,I'd be the biggest hypocrite if I said I really worked very hard for my career, because it was given to me on a silver platter. I can't take any credit. My major focus was sports and going to the gym.
Television and media
Lanzoni first came to the United States at the age of 13; he intended to stay, but his parents forbade him due to his age. Lanzoni hoped to live in America, calling it "the greatest country in the world."At 14 years old, Fabio received his first modeling contract in Italy. In 2015, he described the event to The Guardian:
My career started when I was barely 14 years old. I was in Milan, at the gym, and one of the two biggest photographers in Europe, Oliviero Toscani, came up to me and said, "You should model." I wasn't in the industry, so I had no idea who he was. I remember giving him my father's phone number. He called my father, hired me for a big campaign and things took off from there.In his teenage years, Lanzoni participated in such sports as horseback riding, windsurfing, and slalom and downhill skiing. In 1975, when Lanzoni was 16, he became a ski-racing champion in his hometown of Milan. However, he broke his leg while skiing a slalom course; he was placed in traction for a week and in a cast for four months. His doctor suggested weight lifting as physical therapy, and Lanzoni "fell in love" with the training. At 19 years of age, Lanzoni dropped out of university and moved to the US, to the frustration of his parents. Lanzoni recalls, "My father was totally against it. My father always said, 'He's going to get it out of his system and come back with his tail between his legs.
Within 48 hours of arriving in America, Lanzoni "walked into the Ford modelling agency without an appointment and walked out with a contract." The following day, he met with Barry McKinley, whom Lanzoni called "the biggest photographer in the world" at the time. McKinley hired Lanzoni for the launch of Gap Inc. The contract was for $150,000, which was—according to Lanzoni—$30,000 more than what contemporaneous top male models in the world received. Lanzoni considered himself one of the first "really muscular" models, and he began to pose for 15 or 16 book cover photoshoots a day. Other early jobs included video shoots for Nintendo.
Lanzoni claims his first realization of his fame was in 1987, at the age of 28. That year, he modeled for romance novel Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey, in a cover painted by Elaine Duillo. While dancing in a Miami nightclub, Lanzoni was recognized by three women from his appearance on romance novel covers. Prior to the encounter, Lanzoni knew he had taken photos for use in book covers, but had never seen the finished product. In a 2021 People interview, Lanzoni recalls:
three girls come over and say, "You look exactly like the guy on our books!" I said, "That's a good pickup line." I go like, "Oh my God, that's me." It was the first time I saw myself on the cover of the books.
More photography and film roles followed. In 1989, Lanzoni appeared as the hero Kuros on the cover of Nintendo game Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II. In 1990, Lanzoni acted as an angel in horror film The Exorcist III. In the 1991 film Scenes from a Mall, Lanzoni is credited for the role of "Handsome Man."
In 1992, Robert Gottlieb of William Morris Agency became Lanzoni's literary agent; Lanzoni became the first bestselling male romance writer to use his real name. Lanzoni published Pirate, Rogue, Viking, Comanche, and Champion, all of which were written in collaboration with romance author Eugenia Riley. Lanzoni later collaborated with Wendy Corsi Staub to write Dangerous, Wild, and Mysterious.
File:Fabio appearing during StarGaze 1993 at Pilot Field.jpg|thumb|Lanzoni in 1993, participating in the annual StarGaze charity event at Pilot Field in Buffalo, New York
During the Christmas season of 1992, an all-Fabio pin-up calendar for 1993 appeared in major bookstores and was a top seller. In 1993, Lanzoni released an album titled Fabio After Dark, which included 17 tracks. Billboard reported that Lanzoni's contributions "were all spoken word; he let guests like Billy Ocean and Dionne Warwick do the singing." Interspersed between the music are Lanzoni's soliloquies on his philosophies of love, such as "Fabio: On Inner Beauty" and "Fabio: On Humor."
In 1993, Versace contracted Lanzoni to model their Mediterraneum fragrance. Lanzoni alleged in 2021 that the company still owed him $1 million in profits. In 1999, the Los Angeles Times reported on a promotional meet-and-greet at the Sherman Oaks Bullock's men's fragrance department. Fans lined up to receive "a hug, an autograph, a photo taken with their own camera," and occasionally a "quick smooch."
In 1993, American author and publisher Helen Gurley Brown stated that Fabio is "terribly big and has very long hair and classic Roman coin features, so it's hard to forget what he looks like. I find him so astonishing looking that you can hardly concentrate on what he's saying. Plus, he has got good promoters who make you aware of him." That year, the Los Angeles Times claimed Hillary Clinton "flirted with on a White House visit."
In 1993, Fabio's manager Peter F. Paul published Fabio's biography, Fabio. It contains over 100 photographs. According to Paul's biography, by 1992, over 55 million Fabio romance covers had been sold. Fabio's first dedication in 1995 book Fabio Fitness is to Paul; he writes:
A very special thanks to Peter F. Paul my business partner, manager, and most of all my friend. He has dedicated his indefatigable energy and creativity to working with me and creating what has come to be known as "The Fabio Phenomenon."Around that time, Lanzoni claimed, "In the last year and a half, I can count in a hand how many days off I had. I've been working every single day, up to 17, 18 hours a day. I'm not even going to the gym anymore." Dr. Donnamarie White, romance author and creator of the official Fabio fan club, who met Fabio on multiple occasions, claims Fabio stopped modeling in 1993.
From 1993 to 1994, Lanzoni starred in the syndicated TV series Acapulco H.E.A.T. in the role of Claudio. That year, he became the spokesman for spread brand I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! In 1996, Lanzoni starred as himself in the comedy film Spy Hard. The following year, Lanzoni was featured as himself in a Step by Step episode "Absolutely Fabio." In 1998, he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien doing a brief comedic sketch. In 1996, his manager Eric Ashenberg stated that Lanzoni was looking for "something more in the Errol Flynn style, something romantic."
In 1999, comedian Tom Green toured Fabio's house, an interview that included Fabio throwing him into his pool multiple times. Lanzoni revealed that his kitchen was full of dirt bikes, and he considered it an empty room, as he never ate at home. Green repeatedly asked the cost of Fabio's home sound system, pleaded with Fabio to take his shirt off, borrowed Fabio's tank top, and finally went on a shirtless CR250 motorcycle ride with him.
In 2000, Lanzoni had a cameo in the stoner comedy film Dude, Where's My Car? Lanzoni lampooned himself in comedy film Zoolander the following year, which featured over a dozen celebrity cameos. Screen Rant describes his cameo as one of the most memorable:
Fabio is showcased in Zoolander early on. He appears after the opening sequence, as a fellow model at the ceremony the main characters attend. He is shown accepting an award before Male Model of the Year is awarded. Fabio's lines are funny, thanking the audience for naming him the best "actor slash model, and not the other way around."In 2002, 2003, and 2012, Fabio appeared in soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, as a close friend of the character Sally Spectra, played by Darlene Conley. In 2005, Lanzoni hosted the American reality television series Mr. Romance. The series featured a dozen male contestants competing for the title of "Mr. Romance" and the opportunity to appear as a romance novel cover model. In 2010, he was featured in Big Time Rush and played the character Captain Hawk in The Suite Life on Deck episode "Senior Ditch Day."