Paola Cortellesi

Paola Cortellesi basically hit the ground running in showbiz—she was only 13 when she started belting out the jingle for “Cacao meravigliao” on Renzo Arbore’s “Indietro tutta!” on RAI. Fast forward to 19, and she’s in Rome, training as an actress at Teatro Blu (apparently, that place just churns out stars—seriously, look up the alumni). Her TV debut? “Macao,” with Alba Parietti. But, honestly, it was “Mai dire Gol” with Gialappa’s Band that really put her on the map. That’s where people started noticing her knack for hilarious parodies—she’s got this thing for nailing impressions of celebs, and folks ate it up. Even years later, she was still at it, like when she spoofed Milan’s mayor, Letizia Moratti, on “Zelig” in 2010-2011. After “Mai dire Gol,” she stuck around in the Gialappa’s Band universe with more “Mai dire…” shows. She kept showing up everywhere: the 2004 San Remo Festival, starring as Maria Montessori in a TV movie (which won her the Maximo Award), and then jumping into movies—especially comedies like “Tu la conosci Claudia?” alongside Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo. Awards? Oh, plenty. Nominated for a David di Donatello in 2008, then actually winning Best Actress in 2011 for “Escort in Love.” She owned the stage, too, with “Gli ultimi saranno gli ultimi,” performing it nearly 200 times. As if that’s not enough, she sings—Mina called her one of Italy’s best voices—and she’s worked with a bunch of iconic Italian musicians. Married director Riccardo Milani in 2011, and they’ve got a daughter together. Busy doesn’t even cover it.