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"I would arrive in the assembly and say to myself 'Let's see what will happen to me today.'"

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Italy is full of beautiful women, so to become famous for your looks in that country, you really need to be something special. Nicole Minetti enchanted European audiences when she appeared on the satirical TV series Scorie (2007-09), and she has been a major Italian media figure ever since. She followed her television appearances up with a career in politics, after briefly working in the healthcare field. In recent years she has mostly been known for her association with "Rubygate" in Italy, but throughout the late 2000s she was a beloved feature of Italian television.

Dental Hygienist Turned Showgirl

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Born March 11, 1985 in Rimini, Italy to English dance instructor Georgina Reed, Nicole Minetti's first passion was not actually in show business, but health care. Minetti attended the Classical High School in Rimini, and then followed her passion to Milan, where she attended the famous Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. Here she obtained her bachelor's in dental hygiene before moving on to achieve bachelor's in Sciences of the Technical-Assistance Health Professions.

The entertainment industry would soon call her to the spotlight, though, and in 2007 she joined the cast of Scorie as a "valet." For our non-Italian readers, think "Fly Girls" from In Living Color. She served as a sort of showgirl for the satirical TV series.

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Scorie aired on the network Rai 2 and was hosted by Nicola Savino, writer, actor, TV host and impressionist. The show was sort of an anything-goes approach to television, somewhere between a talk show and a variety program. Each episode would feature interviews, sometimes with recurring guests, home video segments, dancing, music, funny clips from around the internet, and even reality and game show segments in the style of X Factor.

The show was popular for its open format and the general sense that anything could happen, so you definitely wanted to tune in to find out, especially in the weekly live episodes. Scorie launched several Italian celebrities just as In Living Color had launched the careers of everyone from Jamie Foxx to Jennifer Lopez. Among them was of course Nicole Minetti, whose natural grace and beauty made her an instant favorite among the viewers at home. Scorie had plenty of dancing girls, but Nicole Minetti stood out as an exceptional beauty even among the exceptional beauties who graced the series with their presence.

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Political Career

After leaving Scorie in 2009, Nicole Minetti actually returned to the dental hygiene profession, perhaps regarding her brief time in the spotlight as a fun diversion, but not really her true calling. It was while working as a dental hygienist that she met Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had come in with two broken teeth that needed care. The two had seen each other around town at various clubs but this would be the first real meeting between the two, and they hit it off immediately.

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"I met him I would say about 3 years ago. I had met him in several situations, but the time that I actually approached him was at St. Raphael hospital."

Minetti's return to the spotlight would not actually be on television or in film, but in politics. In 2010 she found herself on President Roberto Formigoni's list and elected regional councilor for Lombardy. She was elected as a member of Berlusconi's The People of Freedom Party. While details are scarce on the exact nature of Minetti's relationship with Berlusconi and little was ever made public or official, she has since told interviewers that she was in love with the Prime Minister. Of course, as is often the case when a celebrity is elected to a position of political influence, Minetti's appointment to regional councilor was not without its share of criticism, and many were concerned that Minetti's lack of political experience would be a setback.

"The president, he is a showman, let's say, he can talk about anything. He sings. He tells stories."

Many of these fears turned out to be unfounded, and her time in office largely passed without any major incident owing to that inexperience. Rather, the problems surrounding her time in office wound up relating to her closeness with more experienced politicians. It wasn't long before Minetti had her first political scandal, being embroiled in "Rubygate" in 2010, owing to her association with Silvio Berlusconi. She would step down from public office and spend most of the 2010s under investigation for her involvement in the case.

Following her retirement from politics she expressed no desire to run for office again, instead turning her attention to catwalk modeling in the early 2010s.

While Minetti's time in the spotlight ultimately ended on a sadder note than it began, there are those who will always remember her as one of the charismatic dancing girls of Scorie.

"I get up in the morning and I don't know what to do. This is a delicate time for me."