>Who is Fabio??? I am french, so i don't understand it all...
>I just want to know who is he, and where i was supposed to see him!!! I know that he is Larissa's ex-boyfriend, but when did
>we see him in the reality show??
>
>Can't wait for an anwser!! Fabio has probably appeared on more historical "bodice-rippers" than just about anyone! He has also written (or ghost-written)at least seven of his own romance novels.
Here is a link and some info from romantic times...
www.romantictimes.com/f_reader/f4fab2a.shtml (where there is also a great "hubba hubba" shirtless pic! No wonder Gil was insecure!)
"A household name for nearly a decade, Fabio is also the undisputed god of romance. Countless romance novel covers sport his likeness as the embodiment of the ideal hero. But even apart from his extraordinary success within that industry, Fabio is a media phenomenon.
Born Fabio Lanzoni in Milan, Italy on March 15, 1961, the blue-eyed hero was a charmer from the start--a plump, precious cherub who inherited his good looks from his mother, Flora, a former beauty queen. His father, Sauro, a businessman, and his two siblings, an older brother, Walter, and a younger sister, Christina, had no inkling of the fame he would ultimately achieve. At the tender age of 14, the striking Fabio was discovered and asked to model for Italian Vogue. It was the start of a career that would eventually take him all over the world.
He worked steadily into his 20s, and after a mandatory two-year stint in the Italian army, he decided to come to the United States. His start in the States is near legendary--Fabio walked into the Ford Agency and received a lucrative modeling contract on the spot. His stunning looks soon made him one of Ford's more sought-after male models, despite the fact that designers often had to have jackets and other garments specially made to fit his broad frame.
Fabio soon began making regular appearances on the TV show "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." But he had already made another decision that would have a remarkable impact on his career. To supplement his other modeling jobs, he began posing for the covers of romance novels.
It was wonderful cover artist Elaine Duillo who discovered his photo in a group of head shots at the studio where she shoots. His first appearance on a historical cover was the spine of Bertrice Small's 1987 novel Enchantress Mine. Elaine was impressed enough to ask him to pose for the front cover of Johanna Lindsey's Hearts Aflame. That cover was such a success that he subsequently posed for many of Lindsey's covers, all painted by Duillo, who says that he was "such a good model that no one could compare with him."
By 1991, Fabio had attracted the attention of readers, who initially assumed that the cover star was an imaginary character, an artist's creation. Fabio's recognition as a real-life model coincided with a revolution in the industry, as the "bodice ripper" tags made way for a new level of respect. As a result, Fabio became associated with and helped pioneer a new image not only for men in the romance industry, but for the industry itself.
Romantic Times was one of the first publications to alert readers to the fact that he was a flesh-and-blood man, not a fantasy. More interest accumulated when Fabio was used as a sole cover model on two Laura Kinsale covers, The Shadow and The Star and The Prince of Midnight, after Avon executives learned that Fabio raised book sales by up to 40 percent. The Shadow and The Star featured a dripping wet Fabio emerging from the water. Avon books sent out postcards featuring the cover and also created a bookstore display that included a Fabio cutout. Both books were bestsellers and received plenty of publicity that called attention to the cover model.
Fabio began to branch into a number of different projects: bit parts in movies, a private 900 line, a Fabio poster and calendars followed.
Almost overnight, Fabio became one of the hottest names in the romance industry. It wasn't unusual to see him featured in all the tabloids simultaneously. Fabio fever was hot enough for Romantic Times to invite him and his then manager, Peter Paul, to appear at the RT convention in Savannah, Georgia in April '92. RT had delighted its readers with the first-ever Fabio centerfold just months earlier. During the convention, RT published its 100th issue, which, of course, featured a shirtless and golden Fabio as cover star."
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