She was born in Milan, but loves to call herself “Anglo-Bolognese”. Her English mother is from Kent, and teaches English and French, while her father, a native of Bologna, is a singer-songwriter, arranger and well-known composer of famous advertising jingles.
Vanessa Guarnera grew up combining her great passion for singing and music with her passion for words and languages: on the one hand she would totally immerse herself listening to music from her father’s vinyl collection, nurturing her knowledge, and on the other she would love reading and writing stories and poems, both in Italian and English.
Over the years she would lend her voice to jingles and voiceovers for her father’s advertisements (Sole, Saratoga, I Coloniali di Atkinsons, Activia, Ferrero, Caramelle Dufour).
In addition to being bilingual in Italian and English, she added to her cultural agility and international outlook by also acquiring excellent knowledge of French.
Between 2001 and 2014 Vanessa Guarnera put her language and music skills to work as a talent producer for the television program “Quelli che il calcio” (RAI2). She established close relationships with major record companies, as well as independent labels, in order to offer television audiences the best from the Italian and International music scene. Her creative thinking skills, as well as her analytical ability, allowed her to look after both the production aspects (budget, logistics, technical requests, rehearsals) and all the editorial aspects (editing texts, press releases, subtitles, translations).
Her insatiable curiosity, meticulous scouting work and excellent networking skills achieved results, thanks to which there is a long list of foreign artists who have performed for the first time on Italian television, or seen their careers take off in Italy:
Air, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Asaf Avidan, Beth Hart, Bruno Mars, Cody ChesnuTT, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ed Sheeran, Gavin DeGraw, Gotye, Gossip, India.Arie, Joan as Police Woman, Jet, Joss Stone, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Muse, Norah Jones, Paolo Nutini, Robin Thicke, Rumer, Sean Lennon, Selah Sue, Stromae, The Darkness, The Fray, The Kooks, The Last Goodnight, The Script, The Sugarhill Gang, The Thrills, Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band, Train, Wallflowers), as well as Ali Campbell, Anastacia, Annie Lennox, Bastille, Bat for Lashes, Ben Harper, Black Eyed Peas, Bob Geldof, Brian Ferry, Cherry Ghost, Christopher Cross, David Bowie, David Crosby and Graham Nash, David Grey, Depeche Mode, Dido, Duran Duran, Fitz and the Tantrums, Florence and The Machine, Gino Vannelli, Goldfrapp, I Blame Coco, James Morrison, Jamie Cullum, Joe Cocker, John Legend, Katie Melua, Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Stansfield, Macy Gray, Mary J Blige, Mattafix, Michael Bublé, Moby, Oasis, Parlotones, Paul Weller, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins, Placebo, Primal Scream, Rem, Richard Ashcroft, Robbie Williams, Robert Plant, Sananda Maitreya, Seal, Simply Red, Skunk Anansie, Starsailor, Stereophonics, Sting, The Lumineers, Tina Turner, Tracy Chapman and many more.
At the same time, between 2001 and 2002, Vanessa Guarnera played the off-screen role of Mr. Brown’s (Andrea Pellizzari) English teacher in the television programme “Le Iene” (Italia 1) and, between 2010 and 2012, in the radio program “RaiTunes” (Rai Radio 2) conducted by Alessio Bertallott.
For Skira Editore Publishers in 2013, she translated the book “Jimi Hendrix: A Brother’s Story” (“Jimi Hendrix. Mio Fratello”) by Leon Hendrix and Adam Mitchell, from English to Italian.
Also, in 2013, she proposed Israeli artist Asaf Avidan as a superhost at the 63rd edition of the Sanremo Festival, performing ‘Reckoning Song’ (One Day).
After the conclusion of her contract with the TV program “Quelli che il calcio”, in 2017 Vanessa Guarnera entered into a new partnership with Antonio Gnecchi Ruscone, and together they founded the company Art Works Production Srl.
For season 2023/24, Vanessa has been Head of Music Guests at “Che Tempo Che Fa”, an Italian TV talk-show broadcasted live on channel NOVE owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
