‘I was totally enamoured the second I saw him’: Silvia Colloca on life with Richard Roxburgh
By Jane Rocca
Silvia Colloca is an actor, cook and author best known for her popular cookbooks. Here, the 47-year-old opens up about her relationship with her father, surviving heartbreak many times and meeting her husband, actor Richard Roxburgh.
“I had my heart broken many times, but they weren’t necessarily serious or long relationships. I just fell hard.” Credit: Christopher Ferguson
My maternal grandfather, Domenico, was a professional cyclist when he was young, and grew up in a small village in Abruzzo, Italy. When World War II broke out, he fled to France with his mother. When the war was over, they returned to Italy.
Nonno Domenico was a super-skinny, wiry man. He ate like there was no tomorrow and never gained weight. He was always a bit sickly and had lung issues. Mum [Loredana] told me when she was a child, the priest came to the house three times to read him his last rites, yet he survived. He was funny and loved by his grandchildren. He died suddenly aged 79.
In the 1950s, Domenico left the home village with Nonna Irene and moved to Milan. She worked as a dressmaker. The divide between north and south was huge then; those from the south were bullied a lot. Nonno was the life of the village in the south, but in Milan he didn’t really know anyone.
My dad’s father, Giuseppe, died when my dad [Mario] was 15. We have a photo of him: he looked like Errol Flynn. He had hazel eyes, dark hair and high cheekbones. My dad put himself through evening school so he could work during the day to help his mother.
Dad met Mum at a New Year’s Eve party in their early 20s. She was there as Dad’s best friend’s date, but they ended up as a couple. Six months later, my parents were married.
Dad worked as a computer programmer. As a child, I used to pick his ties for work. On Saturday mornings when he’d go to buy the newspaper, I would attach myself to his ankle until he agreed I could go with him. I was his constant shadow.
I have a sister, Alessandra, five years older than me, and a brother, Giammarco, who is three years older. I revered them; any validation I got from them meant the world to me.
Giammarco works as a chef in Milan. He worked in Michelin-star restaurants in Italy and cooked for many celebrities. He is a hardcore metalhead and so am I. He cooks for bands, including Coldplay, when they tour, and recently cooked for Metallica.
My first celebrity crush was Michael J Fox. Teenage girls were obsessed with him. Then it was Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose; I loved his moves and those biker pants. I went to see them in Milan two years ago and I cried.
I had a mentor when I started musical theatre: Italy’s most beloved singer and actor, Massimo Ranieri. He cast me in a show he was touring with and I worked with him for three years in my early 20s. I learned everything I know from watching him. He was harsh and expected a lot, but he gave us a lot.
My oldest friend is Walter Palamenga. We have known each other for 25 years, lived together at times and struggled to get work together. We have shared the hard yards and are incredibly close. He is now artistic director of Milan’s Eco theatre.
I had my heart broken many times, but they weren’t necessarily serious or long relationships. I just fell hard.
I met actor Richard Roxburgh while filming Van Helsing in 2003. We have been married for 20 years. I was totally enamoured the second I saw him at the read-through. He was charming.
We’d both come out of relationships and neither of us was looking for a new one at the time. Our first date happened a few months into filming and, after that, we didn’t leave each other’s side.
I moved to London with Richard and we remained there for a few years before permanently moving to Australia in 2009. Being with Richard was the first time I felt that I wanted to have kids. It was different to any other love I had felt before. Our children are aged seven, 14 and 17.
Silvia Colloca is an ambassador for San Remo.
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