If you've watched shows like Bobby & Giada in Italy, you may have grown a little curious about
Veronica De Laurentiis, Giada's mother. She seemed almost destined to become a movie star, as both
her parents were powerhouses of Italian cinema. Here's the down-low on Veronica De Laurentiis.
Veronica was cast in the 1970 war epic Waterloo as an eighteen year old,
but disappeared from the spotlight after getting married and giving birth to her first
daughter, Giada, that same year. Veronica De Laurentiis's first marriage is not a love story.
It actually came from misguided lessons she learned as a child. De Laurentiis told
Italian Cinema Today that she was raised to not think for herself and to work to please others,
and had a hard time finding someone to draw strength from. Her mother, Silvana Mangano,
might have taken Italian cinema by storm. But the sensual reputation she crafted within the
industry was starkly at odds with her private life. Veronica De Laurentiis described her
mother as sad and depressed. When Veronica was only 14 years old, her mother attempted suicide.
Veronica took it upon herself to shoulder the responsibility for her mother's happiness.
De Laurentiis has said that her childhood was filled with fear. Her father,
film producer Dino De Laurentiis, was used to telling people what to do and getting his way.
Her mother was a total perfectionist. Because her parents wanted her to become a housewife, Veronica
complied and gave up acting. Instead, she married into the industry: to actor and producer, Alex De
Benedetti. Even after divorcing her husband, it would be decades until she could return to acting.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Veronica eventually broke her silence on some of the abuse she had suffered, and has stated that
silence is akin to cancer. She has spoken from firsthand experience, but she kept her story
secret for a long time. When she married, her husband abused not only her but her children.
An investigation into her ex-husband demonstrated his hobby of intimidating his family with the guns
he collected. In 1991, De Benedetti pleaded guilty to crimes committed against a minor
and went to prison, helping to close a painful chapter in Veronica's life - and open a new door.
Veronica De Laurentiis broke her silence in a memoir in 2006.
Her book tours changed her life. Speaking with Italian Cinema Today, she said:
"Women came forth and told me their stories,
and it helped me to heal myself. So, I decided to start a support group at my house."
Veronica De Laurentiis started a non-profit, ONLUS,
which exists to support victims of violence, abuse, and stalking.
Veronica says she remembers her mother telling her that she was going to help
break the cycle of abuse in the family, so she's doing her part to fulfill that wish.
Had it not been for her mother, Giada De Laurentiis might never have finished cooking
school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Giada says the school was incredibly difficult to get through,
and that instructors were verbally abusive and incredibly hard on students.
Giada wanted to throw in the towel, so she called her mother and asked if she could come home.
Veronica shut the door on that idea. Giada recalls her mother telling her that dropping
out was not an option, and that she would be completely cut out of the family if she did.
"Things don't work the way you want them to work, so you learn about patience."
Because she made the mistake of giving up her dreams to become a housewife,
Veronica De Laurentiis did not let her daughter follow the same path.
So, Giada De Laurentiis stuck it out and graduated. The celebrity chef has stated
that there was deep friction between her and her mother because of this harsh lesson,
but it did not last for the long haul. One need only look at the mother and daughter smiling
together on Instagram to know that the two De Laurentiis powerhouses are close these days.
Veronica De Laurentiis didn't just push her daughter to follow her professional goals:
she did the same for herself. Speaking with Italian Cinema Today, she said:
"When I decided to go back to acting ... everyone told me I was crazy,
including my father [...] I stopped being depressed and I felt good about myself."
She was 40 years old and newly remarried, but she knew it was time to get back to what she loved.
After two years of intensive acting classes,
she started getting roles - one of the first of which was a small part in Red Dragon.
She's had a few other film appearances, like in 2006's 10th and Wolf and she has voice roles in
a series based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Veronica has said her favorite aspect of
acting is how you can use your fame and reach to send a message to so many people at once.
Giada De Laurentiis is known for having a natural on-camera charm – coming from a family of movie
stars probably had something to do with that. But if you're asking yourself whether she inherited
her cooking abilities from her mother as well, that depends on who you ask. Veronica is very
humble about her own cooking abilities, and has said that she mostly just throws together
variations of whatever she has on hand to make meals. Judging from some of the food photos
on her Instagram page, however, it looks like she's better than she gives herself credit for.
"This is the de Laurentiis egg sandwich that my mom and I are gonna make together,
that she used to make for me when I was a kid."
Giada has also praised her mother's ability to use the ingredients she had on hand in unique ways,
and has said it's an important part of her
own cooking. Talking about her mother with Today, Giada said:
"She had a lot of mouths to feed between my siblings and I, so no food went wasted."
Giada is also a mom, and she says that her recipes often leave a lot of room for reinterpretation.
Even though many of her dishes can seem complicated and specific,
Giada encourages people to use different pastas, meats, vegetables and cheeses with her recipes
than just what she lists – she's just passing down the skills she learned from her own mother.
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