Amedeo Umberto Rita Sebastiani (born 4 September 1962), known professionally as Amadeus (), is an Italian television host and radio presenter.
Life and career Born in Ravenna to Sicilian parents, Sebastiani grew up in Verona.Giorgio Dell'Arti, Massimo Parrini. Catalogo dei viventi. Marsilio, 2009. . He started his career in 1979 as a deejay for a small radio station in Verona after a successful audition.
One day in 1985, Sebastiani spent six hours outside a hotel to lend Vittorio Salvetti, Italian television producer, a VHS with his audition. Salvetti then got him in touch with talent scout Claudio Cecchetto, to which Sebastiani recorded and sent a demo cassette. The talent scout gave him a chance in 1986 and made him debut for Radio DeeJay with the stage name "Amadeus", basing it off of Rock Me Amadeus, 1985 single by Falco. Over the next two years he became one of the main radio presenters for Radio Capital Music Network, where he co-hosted many programmes with Luca Laurenti among mang others. He made his television debut in 1988, appearing in the Radio DeeJay spin-off DeeJay Television on Italia 1.
His debut on a RAI network was in 1999 as a quality juror for Sanremo Music Festival 1999. In September of that year he became the host of Domenica In for the next season. In October 2000, Quiz Show premiered on Rai 1 with him as the host. The game later rebranded to L'eredità, which he kept hosting until he briefly quit Rai in 2006.
During his career, Amadeus hosted several high-profile programmes, both for RAI and Mediaset, including five editions of Festivalbar, four seasons of , the Sanremo Music Festival (2020 to 2024), , and several early evening quiz shows.
In April 2024, he left Rai at the end of his contract and signed a four-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. His final appearances for Rai included Una. Nessuna. Centomila – in Arena, Viva Rai2! hosted by Fiorello, and Affari tuoi (English: "Your Business"), the Italian version of Deal or No Deal.
On Nove, he launched Suzuki Music Party, the quiz show Chissà chi è and La Corrida – Dilettanti allo sbaraglio, and also hosted the 2024 SIAE Music Awards. In 2025, he joined the jury of Amici di Maria De Filippi on Canale 5 before returning to Nove in May to present Like a Star, the Italian version of Starstruck, which was followed in June by The Cage – Prendi e scappa.
Personal life Between 1993 and 2007, Sebastiani was married to Marisa Di Martino. They have a daughter, Alice Vittoria, born in 1997.
In 2003, after separating from his first wife, Sebastiani began a relationship with the showgirl Giovanna Civitillo, whom he had met while working at L'eredità.
In January 2009, Sebastiani and Giovanna had a son, José Alberto, named after José Mourinho, who at the time was coaching Inter Milan – the team Sebastiani supports. The couple married later that year.
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1988–19891, 2, 3 JovanottiCo-hostMusical programme1989–1990Deejay BeachPresenterMusical programme (seasons 3–4)1993Festivalbar 1993Co-hostAnnual music festival1994Festivalbar 1994Presenter1995Festivalbar 19951995–1996Co-hostVariety show (season 8)1996Festivalbar 1996PresenterAnnual music festival1996–1997Talent show (season 2)1997Festivalbar 1997Annual music festivalCo-hostDocuseries (season 1)1998PresenterGame show (season 5)Co-hostVariety show (season 1)1999PresenterVariety show1999–2000Variety show (season 24)2000Game show (season 3)2000–2002Quiz ShowGame show2001Castrocaro Music Festival 2001Annual music festival2002Game show (season 1)2002–2006Game show (seasons 1–4)2003Annual charity sports eventAnnual beauty contest2004Music FarmTalent/reality show (season 1)2006Game show2007–2008Co-host2009HimselfTV series (episode "")2009–2016PresenterVariety show (seasons 17–23)2010 Reality show2013ContestantTalent showTalent show (season 3)2014–2017PresenterGame show (seasons 8–11)2014; 2016ColorsGame show2015GuestArchive footage/variety show 2015–2018PresenterGame show (seasons 1–4)2015–2023New Year's Eve special (8 specials)2016JudgeAnnual music festival2016–2017Music QuizPresenterGame show2017–2023Game show (seasons 6–12)2018–2019Talent show2019Co-hostSpecial2019–2024PresenterTalent show2020Sanremo Music Festival 2020Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival2021Sanremo Music Festival 20212021–2023Arena SuzukiPresenterMusic variety show2022Sanremo Music Festival 2022Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festivalPresenterGame show2023Sanremo Music Festival 2023Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival2023–2024PresenterGame show (season 15–16)2024Sanremo Music Festival 2024Presenter and artistic directorAnnual music festival2025Amici di Maria De FilippiJudgeTalent show (season 24; final stage only)
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes1993DoctorFeature film debut2003HimselfCameo appearance2023WishValentinoItalian voice-over
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