Veronica De Laurentiis & Alex De Benedetti are Italian Americans who had their feet in the entertainment business for a number of years before their marriage came to an end in a way that could only be predicted by a movie. The two are also known as the parents of celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis, Igor De Laurentiis, and Eloisa De Laurentiis who are also in the showbiz.
The story of Giada’s parents is just as interesting as the story of her career, and in this
article, we explore the untold truths about their relationship. Scroll below to learn
everything you need to know.
Veronica De Laurentiis & Alex De Benedetti – At A Glance
Veronica de Laurentiis was born in Italy, sometime in 1950. She was brought up in the world of showbiz by her parents – Dino de Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano – who were a film producer and an actress respectively. Just like her parents, she has a career in the entertainment industry which began when she was 18 years old. She made her first film appearance in one of her fathers’ productions, Waterloo, alongside Christopher Plummer and Rod Steiger.
She retired from acting two years after she made her debut appearance after she had her first child, Giada De Laurentiis. However, she returned to her career as an actress in 2001 and has appeared in more than 15 movies and TV shows ever since, including credits in titles like Entourage, How Sweet It is, Wedding Day, Red Dragon, Pandemia, and several others
In addition to being an actress, Veronica de Laurentiis is also a best-selling author, having published two books, Rivoglio La Mia Vita and Riprenditi La Tua Vita – Le otto chiavi di Veronica, both of which mean Claim My Life and Take Back Your Life – Veronica’s Eight Keys respectively. She is also the founder of a non-profit organization, Associazione Veronica De Laurentiis. The foundation is focused on stopping domestic violence.
As for Alex De Benedetti, not much is known about his background other than the fact he was a member of the entertainment industry as a producer. His career has been defined mainly by the three known films he produced; Fighting Back, Pumpkinhead, and Evil Dead II.
The Untold Truth About Veronica de Laurentiis And Alex De Benedetti
Alex De Benedetti was the first husband of Veronica de Laurentiis. They were married in 1970 having got together sometime in the late 60s, giving birth to their first child, Giada De Laurentiis in 1970. After they gave birth to their child, Giada, they gave birth to two more children, Dino De Laurentiis who was born in Rome, Italy in February 1972 and Eloisa De Laurentiis.
Following the birth of their third child, Veronica de Laurentiis and Alex De Benedetti relocated to the United States in 1977, living in Florida and New York before settling in Los Angeles. The couple gave birth to their fourth child, Igor De Laurentiis, in America. Four years after they gave birth to their last child, the couple got divorced.
The divorce of Alex De Benedetti and Veronica De Laurentiis was down to allegations of child abuse and domestic abuse. It emerged that Alex De Benedetti had been sexually abusing their daughter and first child, Giada De Laurentiis since the age of 12, raping her. By the time their daughter was 13 years old, Alex was raping her three times a week, and it continued well until the end of high school for young Giada.
Eventually, Giada de Laurentiis found the courage to report to the treatment center, Stuart House and thus began the end of Alex and Veronica’s marriage.
Alex was charged for the rape of his daughter in 1991, and he pled guilty to two counts of raping a minor and was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison.
After the divorce, Veronica De Laurentiis opened a fashion design studio which she operated for twelve years, designing women’s clothing. She also returned to acting and has gotten married again to Ivan Kavalsky, who is also a producer.
Where is Giada de Laurentiis today?
Giada de Laurentiis hardly talks about her experiences when she was a child or how it has affected her. In fact, she has never made a public statement about it. However, she has since changed her name, dropping the name of her father to her mother’s.
There has also been no reports on how the abuse Giada suffered affected her body, but it is well known that she does not like to be touched by fans. It is unclear, however, if this has anything to do with her experiences when she was still growing up.
She has weathered the storm that enveloped the earliest parts of her life and has now become a multitalented individual recognized as a chef, writer, and television personality. She hosts her own show, Giada at Home, on Food Network and also founded her catering business known as GDL Foods. Thanks to her shows, she has clinched a number of awards including the Gracie Award and the Daytime Emmy Award.
As regards her family life, Giada was once married to TV personality Todd Thompson. The two walked down the aisle in 2003 and remained together until 2015 when they decided to end their marriage after splitting in 2014. The union was blessed with a daughter. She has since been in a relationship with TV producer, Shane Farley.
Read Also: What Happened To Paula Deen? The Untold Truth Of How She Lost It All
Other children of Veronica de Laurentiis And Alex De Benedetti
As already stated Giada is not the only child of the estranged couple. Here is a look at her other siblings:
1. Eloisa De Laurentiis
Famous as Lulu, Eloisa De Laurentiis was born to the couple in Rome in 1972. Raised in a family that is into the entertainment business, she easily answered the call to become an actress and is known for works including Daylight (1996) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). She has a son, Julian De Laurentiis.
2. Dino De Laurentiis
Veronica De Laurentiis has seen more than one tragedy in her life. She lost one of her children, Dino De Laurentiis to skin cancer in 2003. Dino was only 29 when he was diagnosed and although his older sister Giada believed he was going to survive it, they lost him the next year when he was 30.
3. Igor De Laurentiis
The youngest member of the family is Igor who was born in the United States. Like his older siblings, he has also not deviated from what has come to be more of the natural calling of the family by becoming an actor. His works include Trading Mom (1994), 10th & Wolf (2006), and Crashing (2007).
