In Europe, Michelle Hunziker has long been a household name, and now, her daughter Aurora Ramazzotti is confidently following in her footsteps. Together, they leave an indelible mark on the global stage. In navigating the realities of life in the spotlight, both women confront adversities, joys, and challenges with unwavering resolve - a testament to their steely strength. When asked about the symbolism of steel in her own words, Michelle immediately responds, “Right away, I think about women. I think women have the strength, and women had to go through so much. Women really have strength in their blood.” Through their individual journeys, shared experiences, and unbreakable bond, we celebrate the essence of talent, hard work, and the Hunziker-Ramazzotti legacy, reminding us that their story is one of grace, resilience, and enduring talent, transcending generational boundaries.
Tell us a little bit about who you guys are?
Aurora Ramazzotti: I’m Aurora. She’s Michelle. She’s my mom. She had me when she was 19 years old and we have a very big and expanded family because she then remarried and had two other kids. Also, my father, he had two other kids, and now I have a baby too. So we’re a big family. We all love each other.
Michelle Hunziker: We all love each other. I think we are all pretty European, from blood. But my soul is Italian right now. I mean, I’ve been living here for 30 years, and I love this country. And my whole life, my family, my whole career has been done here, also in Germany, but where you live, it’s pretty important. And Italian people… I love Italians. The way Italians live.
What about it specifically? What about the Italian lifestyle?
MH: The Italians know exactly how...they’re passionate. They don’t survive, they live. So whatever happens to them, if there are problems, they know how to solve problems because they’re light in their souls and their hearts, and the way they see life is very nice. So this is an energy I love so much and that’s why I feel Italian right now after this many years here in Italy.
You guys seem so close. Have you always had this strong bond?
AR: I obviously grew up in the backstage of show business because [my mom] works in television as a TV host, and my father is a singer. So I’ve always loved being in contact with showbiz and music and art and everything. And I, like many children of art, as we say here in Italy, decided to follow in my parents’ footsteps.
MH: I think our relationship is so strong because I had her when I was 19, but I was really ready to be a mom. I really loved my husband, and we really were looking for a child. And I think motherhood, it’s not about age; you have to feel ready for it. And she came, and she was like our angel. She’s still my angel, and we’ve been growing up together. So we have this very intense relationship, mother-daughter.
AR: Well, today I would say our relationship is, we’re very close, obviously because there’s this small age gap and also because I think I’m a good daughter at times.
MH: When you were 13, 14…we would walk on a beach together, and, of course, mother and daughter; maybe it happened that we had the same bathing suit because it’s cute to do that, and we were really spontaneous about that. And then media and journalists…they compared us.
AR: Compared our bodies and everything. I was very young.
MH: That was really body shaming for a young girl, and she had been, I think, traumatized at that time, and maybe show business [the media] at that time would try to build a wall between us. But for me it has always been very important to communicate with her. And we talked a lot together.
AR: I mean I always saw her as just my mom. When you grow up with famous parents, they’re just your mom and your dad. So getting used to the idea that they might represent something else for somebody else and also for you, it is eye-opening. So I had to get used to it but then later on I realized that no matter how much people and the media try to pit us against each other, I just tried to build up confidence in other areas that maybe didn’t have anything to do with my physical appearance. It helped me put my attention on things that weren’t really visible but were inside.
Would you consider your bond unbreakable?
AR: Definitely.
MH: I mean, she is the most important thing in my life, as well as my other daughters; I’ve got three daughters. The little two are eight and ten, but [Aurora] is the daughter I have had more life experiences with and also the daughter I had when I was 19. So, as I said before, to grow together, it’s always been a school of life.
AR: I’ve been a parent for eight months, and I’ve been learning a lot of things too. So I understand that I have taught you many things in these 27 years, Mom. You’re welcome.
MH: And now I’m a grandma. Oh my God.
AR: I think that despite everything that has happened to us and also probably because of everything that has happened to us, our bond is unbreakable - like steel.
MH: Steel Girls.
Michelle, who in your life is someone who is a very strong person for you, and someone you look up to?
MH: I think now, I really can say my mother has this steel in her soul. I mean, she is very strong. She’s also been a woman who has had a lot of suffering because she is a kid of the post-war. She was born in 1943.
AR: She has difficulties expressing her emotions. She’s not very touchy-feely. She’s not that classical grandma.
MH: But she is very funny, and she took care of her family. She’s been very strong, and she is a strong woman. So yes, I look up to her.
And how about for you, Aurora?
AR: I would say the strongest person for me is my mom. Especially because I’ve seen her go through so many things and always wondered, ‘Wow, how does she keep it all together?’ And people would say, ‘Well, it’s motherhood. Motherhood makes you the strongest version of you because you always have to show up for your kids no matter what’s going on in your life or what happened during your day, just get back home and put a smile on your face and make sure that they’re happy.’ And that is, I think the strongest one could be, being strong for somebody else.
What do you think of when you hear the word steel?
MH: I think, right away I think about women. I think women have the strength and women have to go through so much. And also... I think the whole world is the same, but especially in Italy, the culture still is– there’s a lot to do for women’s rights. And so I think women really have the strength in-
AR: - in their blood.
MH: In their blood, yeah.
AR: If I think of steel, I think of women too. It’s like we’re genetically coded to be steel because we can’t allow ourselves to break.
MH: Otherwise, you’re not going to make it. So you have to do a lot of things together. You can be a mother, you can be a worker, and you have to do so many things.
AR: On one hand, it is sad, if you think about it, that we still have to fight for these things that should be basic rights. On the other hand, it makes us who we are.
MH: Yes.
AR: To be women of steel, so it’s never going to leave us.
How important do you think it is to believe in yourself in order to succeed in life?
MH: It’s so important.
AR: Essential, I’d say.
MH: To believe in yourself is the only thing that makes you go on, and that’s why it’s so important to work on self-love and to learn to appreciate yourself because otherwise, people can put you down. So you have to believe in yourself and that’s what empowerment is about. I think a woman who has made her path, and is independent, and made her career should actually take young women and tell them, ‘You know what? You can come with me and I’ll show you.’
AR: Young people, in general, I think are a little scared of the future and everything that comes, but certainly, they would’ve heard many times, ‘You have to believe in yourself. Don’t stop believing in your dreams,’ or phrases you always hear about, but they have no clue what it means because maybe being self-conscious in a way, it helps in other ways; it destroys you. So you have to find that balance between knowing who you are and what you bring and also separating what you think that people think about you because that is such a big part.
Why do you think steel is so important in the world?
MH: Oh my god, this is difficult. I mean, steel has been... I think they use it for so many things, maybe so many things we don’t even know.
AR: Yeah. Steel is in everything that we use, our houses, streets; you see it everywhere, but you don’t really realize how important it is to have something that you can rely on.
AR: Steel is important because it’s part of the fundamentals of our life. It surrounds us. It’s in the buildings. It helps us be where we are today, but we don’t realize it. So we take it for granted in a way, but sometimes, the strongest things that keep us together, that help us be together, are the things that we don’t-
MH: -don’t even care about it.
AR: We don’t even see and we don’t care [about].
What is the best piece of advice that you guys have received?
AR: I feel like I can’t give you any quotes that changed me because I still have so much changing to do. So honestly, my biggest defect, or thing that I don’t like about myself, is that I forget everything. So, even remembering something that taught me a good life lesson is hard for me right now. But surely my parents are my lights in the dark. They’re the people that I look up to when I need something, and I’m not good at asking for help. Right, mom?
MH: No. And that’s the problem because you have to! I have to have intuition about what she needs, what she wants, what she feels. And I’ve been doing that for my whole life with her. But now that she’s a mom, I think…
AR: …I have to learn to ask for help.
MH: Yeah. That’s very important.
AR: I grew up always wanting to be independent, and she taught me a lot about being independent and not having to rely on anybody or respond to anybody because that’s the most important thing. And I learned that, but I learned that too well. And so I never ask anybody for help, even when I really need it and I really want it.
MH: But it’s very important because it has nothing to do with independence. I mean, to ask for help is really something so important. If I wouldn’t have asked for help, I wouldn’t be here today because there are so many people who helped me with my career. So many people believed in me, so many [who] didn’t believe in me. But there were also people who believed in me, and I always asked for everything. Also, nowadays, I always ask. I want to know, also, and I want to stay with people who are much better than me and who know better than me.
