Biography
Who is Beppe Grillo?
Early life
Beppe Grillo was born in San Fruttuoso, Italy, on July 21, 1948. He studied as an accountant but did not finish university.
After high school, Beppe became a comedian by chance after improvising a monologue in an audition. Two weeks later, television presenter Pippo Baudo discovered him.
Television and comedy career
Beppe participated in the variety show Secondo Voi from 1977 to 1978. In 1979, he appeared in Luna Park and the variety show Fantastico.
In the 1980s, Beppe appeared in the shows Te la do io l'America and Te lo do io il Brasile, narrating his experiences in the United States and Brazil. This led to his role in Grillometro.
In 1986, Beppe appeared in a series of prize-winning advertisements for a brand of yoghurt. Soon afterwards, his performances began to include political satire that offended some Italian politicians.
Political activism and Five Star Movement
Beppe has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder of the Italian Five Star Movement political party alongside Gianroberto Casaleggio. He became a prominent example of the populist surge in Europe during the 2010s.
On 1 September 2005, Beppe used money donated by blog readers to buy a full-page advertisement in La Repubblica, calling for the resignation of Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio. In October 2005, Time chose him as one of the European Heroes 2005 for targeting corruption.
On 8 September 2007, Beppe organized a V-Day Celebration in Italy to project the names of convicted politicians and urge a petition for a Bill of Popular Initiative. In 2010, he started the Movimento 5 Stelle to promote honesty and direct democracy through the Internet.
Blog and digital presence
Beppe expanded his influence with his website beppegrillo.it after its launch in January 2005. The internet served as an alternative media source, and the site became the headquarters of the Five Star Movement.
A year after its launch, Time magazine recognized the website as one of the most influential websites to date. As of 2014, Beppe maintained a blog in Italian, English, and Japanese that was updated daily.
Birthday and age
Beppe Grillo was born on July 21, 1948, which makes Beppe 78 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Beppe shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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