Alessandra Mussolini, the 63-year-old granddaughter of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, has won Italy’s version of Celebrity Big Brother.
The former actress, glamour model and politician won the €100,000 ($116,080) cash prize after beating 15 other contestants on the show, known in Italy as Grande Fratello VIP.
The win, on the night of May 20, provides an intriguing look into how Italians view their nation’s troubling wartime history. The portrayal of Mussolini as warm and lovable entertainment shows how her surname has proven more asset than obstacle throughout her long and varied public life.
This is despite her grandfather having dismantled Italian democracy, banned Italian Jews from public life and allied with Adolf Hitler before being killed by partisans in 1945.
“I enjoyed everything to the fullest, just as I am. I regret nothing,” Mussolini reportedly said after her televised victory.
The Italian broadsheet, Corriere della Sera, had praised the contestant as being “bossy, over the top, irresistible, strong-willed and light-hearted” on the popular show.
Mussolini, despite showing political contrasts to her grandfather, has repeatedly spoken benevolently of him and tried to protect his legacy.
Who Is Alessandra Mussolini?
Born on December 30, 1962, Mussolini is the daughter of Romano Mussolini, Benito’s son and a jazz pianist, and Maria Loren, the younger sister of veteran Italian actress, Sophia Loren.
She first found fame through acting and glamour modeling, twice covering Playboy, and in 1982 released a city pop album titled Amore that made her a brief singing sensation in Japan.
Her film career, largely propped up by her connection to the Lorens, ended in 1990 after a producer asked her to change her surname—a request she refused.
Mussolini entered politics in 1992 as a member of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), the same party that launched the career of Giorgia Meloni, now Italy’s prime minister.
Over the decades that followed, Mussolini served in both houses of the Italian Parliament and was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 as a member of Forza Italia.
She lost her European Parliament seat in the 2019 elections but returned as an MEP in November 2022, replacing Antonio Tajani after he was appointed to the Meloni government.
In 2004, Mussolini made history as the first woman to lead a political party in Italy when she founded Social Action, a national conservative grouping.
Her political positions, however, have repeatedly surprised some observers on the right. She has taken several progressive stances on abortion, gay rights, artificial insemination and civil unions, and has been an outspoken feminist—prompting some conservative commentators to label her a “socialist.”
However, her political career has not been without intense criticism and controversy. In 2007, remarks in which she declared all Romanians to be criminals triggered mass outcry.
Mussolini first stepped away from politics in December 2020 to pursue a reality television career before returning to the European Parliament two years later.
She has also appeared on Italy’s version of Dancing With the Stars, known as Ballando con le Stelle.
Her Big Brother victory is the latest chapter in a public life that has unfolded almost entirely in the shadow of her grandfather’s name.
In Italy, where debate over the post-currents and legacy of fascism remain politically sensitive but rarely career-ending, Mussolini has turned that shadow into a spotlight—and, this week, into a six-figure prize and continued fame.
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