Gianna Nannini

Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini live at Villa Manin, Codroipo Italy in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Gianna Nannini
Born	(1956-06-14) 14 June 1956 (age 60)
Origin	Siena, Tuscany, Italy
Genres	Pop, rock
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, violin
Years active	1976–present
Website	GiannaNannini.com

Gianna Nannini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒanna nanˈniːni]; born 14 June 1956 in Siena) is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. Among her song, "Bello e impossibile" (1986) was an international hit in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Nannini was born in Siena on 14 June 1956. She is the older sister of former Formula One racing driver Alessandro Nannini. She studied piano and composition in Milan in the late 1970s and obtained a degree in Philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994. The following year she took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace at the French embassy in Rome against the decision of the French government to pursue nuclear experiments at Mururoa. In August 2010, at the age of 54, she announced that she was pregnant. Nannini's pregnancy was prominently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, where she was portraited wearing a T-shirt with the inscription ‘God is a Woman’. On 26 November 2010 at 12 AM Nannini's daughter Penelope Jane Charlotte was born at the Madonnina Clinic in Milan.

Nannini scored her first domestic hit in 1979 with the single "America" and the album California, which became a success in several European countries. Her international breakthrough happened in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, the Conny Plank-produced Puzzle, who peaked in the top 10 in the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss charts. The first single from the album, "Fotoromanza", was supported by a music video directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, and went on to win many musical awards. Nannini embarked on a long European tour to support the album, culminating in a headlining gig at the Montreux Jazz Festival.