Paolo Kessisoglu

Paolo Kessisoglu (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo kessiˈsɔːɡlu] ; born 25 July 1969) is an Italian actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for the duo Luca e Paolo, formed with his friend, Luca Bizzarri [it] . Kessisoglu was also a member of the comedic group Cavalli Marci ("Rotten Horses").

Kessisoglu was born in Genoa to an Armenian family. His paternal grandfather moved as a child with his family from Smyrna (today İzmir, Turkey) to Greece and later to Italy to escape from the Armenian genocide. The family settled in Trieste for several years before finally moving to Genoa. The original surname, Keshishian (Քեշիշյան ), was Turkized during the escape in Keşişoğlu (with the Armenian -ian ending replaced by the Turkish patronymic ending -oğlu ) to arouse less attention, and then Hellenized to Kesísoglou (Κεσίσογλου ).

In June 2003, Kessisoglu married TV anchor and journalist Sabrina Donadel with whom he has a daughter, Lunitta (b. 2003).

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