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Annunziata Dell'Olio, better known as Nancy Dell’Olio, is an Italian property lawyer who attained fame as the girlfriend of former England national football team coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. She is known in Italy as “La dama nera” (dark lady) due to her no-nonsense attitude and her aggressive demeanour. She is also nickamed the "first lady of football". She has achieved fame in her own right in the United Kingdom and Italy. She is well known as a "good will ambassador for many causes", and as a television presenter. Her trademark is her flamboyant fashion sense, which is often the subject of ridicule from the British press. She was also spoofed regularly by Ronni Ancona in the comedy sketch show Alistair McGowan's Big Impression. On November 9, 2006 Nancy confirmed that she and Sven had indeed split although the split is not completely definite. Their £3million mansion in Regent's Park, North London is up for sale. She also revealed that she is in a relationship with TV presenter Michele Cucuzza.
Dell'Olio was born in New York, where her mother Antonia comes from. At the age of five her family moved back to Italy, to the hard-up town of Bisceglie in the Province of Bari.
The Dell'Olios had little money, and lived in an apartment above a clothes shop. Nunzia, as she was then known, became entranced by what she perceived as the importance of appearance in the modern world, and consequently began to experiment with different styles. Commenting on what she perceived as Nancy's lack of inner peace at the time, a former classmate said 'I think she felt suffocated by the provincial standards here. She was a girl who desperately needed to be something just a little bit more.[1].
At the age of 21 Nancy was hit by a car and was hospitalized for weeks. This gave her a fresh determination to get out of Bisceglie. She studied law at Rome University, and then decided to continue her education at New York University (NYU). On her return to Italy she married a successful lawyer who was twice her age, Giancarlo Mazza, and set up her own legal practice specialising in high-end property deals. In keeping with her singularly ambitious approach to other areas of her life, Nancy developed connections with the Italian political elite by helping in the campaign of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
In May 1998, she came to meet Sven-Göran Eriksson, the manager of Lazio football team. In 2001, Sven was offered £2 million to manage the England team, so he and Nancy relocated to Regents Park, London, where they would be subject to the media spotlight.
At the start of 2002, Sven had a highly publicised affair with television presenter Ulrika Jonsson. Jonsson repeatedly attacked Dell’olio in her weekly News of the World column. She asked "has that fake tan lotion started to pickle her brain?"[2] Dell’Olio branded Jonsson as a “poor girl”[3] and rarely comments on the affair.
Later that year Nancy courted controversy when she and Sven visited the Prime Minister Tony Blair. Nancy's chosen outfit for the Downing Street function, which could only have been chosen in the hopes of provoking comment and adding to her fame, was an open fronted red catsuit. GMTV star Lorraine Kelly, best friend of Ulrika Jonsson, hit out at Dell'Olio, labelling the Italian as "a drag act".[4]
In 2004, it was revealed that Sven was having an affair with Football Association secretary Faria Alam. She was subsequently fired from her position and Sven was heavily criticised in the press. Nancy has never commented on this incident, simply stating “Nothing or no one has, or will, come between us.” [5]
Nancy has visited Red Cross projects in both the UK and overseas. She completed a trip to Kenya to visit under privileged children.
Nancy takes a keen interest in projects that work with vulnerable young people. She enjoys meeting these youngsters, learning more about their experiences and how the Red Cross has helped them to overcome difficult circumstances. She is quoted as saying "I have always been a great admirer of the principles and values behind the work of the Red Cross. The thing that really impressed me is that the Red Cross seems to go everywhere, more than any other charity."[6] In May 2006, Dell’olio donned her red catsuit once again and urged people to dress in red for Red Cross week in order to raise money for those in need.
Dell’Olio is the chairwoman of Truce International, the British based charity she founded with Eriksson which aims to use football as a means of uniting people in areas affected by war. She has visited Israel numerous times to promote football as a force for peace.
In 2005, Nancy was the host of Footballer’s Cribs on MTV. In this programme she gives viewers a guided tour around the luxury homes of premiership football players. "Nancy is a dream signing for us," said series executive producer Sean Murphy. "She's the first lady of football, so is in the perfect position to give us a real insider's view." [7]
On the 5th June 2006, it was reported that Nancy and Sven had been receiving death threats in the lead up to the World Cup. In an interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport she states “We have been getting these threats for some time on the telephone and written. They want to blackmail me and threaten to kill me. They are in English and Italian.” In the interview she also talks about her title as “the first lady of football.” [8]