Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero Grillo, known professionally as Beppe Grillo, was born in Genoa, Liguria on July 21, 1948. His parents were Piera Tieghi, a pianist, and Enrico Grillo, who owned a metalworking factory. He initially studied accounting at the 'Ugolino Vivaldi' private institute and briefly attended the University of Genoa’s faculty of economics and commerce, but did not complete his degree. Prior to pursuing comedy, he worked as a clothing salesman and then in his father’s company. Grillo began his career by improvising a monologue at an audition, which led to his discovery by television presenter Pippo Baudo two weeks later. Grillo's early television appearances include Secondo Voi (1977-1978), Luna Park (1979), and Fantastico (1979), where he co-hosted with Loretta Goggi. Throughout the 1980s, he hosted travel shows such as Te la do io l'America (1982) and Te lo do io il Brasile (1984). He also appeared in films like Cercasi Gesù (1982), for which he received a David di Donatello and Nastro d’argento award, Scemo di guerra (1985), and Topo Galileo (1988). In 1986, he starred in prize-winning yogurt advertisements and appeared at the Sanremo Music Festival. A controversial critique of Italian Socialist Party leader Bettino Craxi on television resulted in his temporary banishment from public television. From 2005 onwards, Grillo’s profile significantly expanded with the launch of his blog, beppegrillo.it. It quickly became influential, being recognized by Time magazine and, by 2014, ranking among the top 10 most visited websites globally. In that year, it was updated daily. He collaborated with singer Giorgia on the song 'Libera la mente' in 2007. In 2009, he co-founded the Italian Five Star Movement with Gianroberto Casaleggio, serving as its guarantor and political leader. The party gained a significant portion of the vote – a quarter – in the 2013 elections. He performs on stage both in Italy and abroad, addressing topics such as energy use, corruption, and globalization. Grillo returned to Italian public television in May 2014 on Porta a Porta and maintains blogs in Italian, English, and Japanese.
