«NI have never believed that friendships are eternal: When a relationship ends I don’t see it as a failure. If versions of myself have an expiration date, relationships can too. Often the cause is not people, but my desire to evolve.” In expressing her vision of life, at 42 years old Bianca Balti has a crystalline touch.
A thought that emerges as transparent as the color of his eyes: that type of hypnotic blue which, for Marcel Proust, can become almost liquid in a few moments. With smiling frankness, over the last year we have seen her tell a lot about herself, opening up about her experience with the disease.
Wonderful as co-host at the Sanremo Festival 2025, also reconfirmed in the latest editiontoday she alternates the role of model with a concrete commitment, as she demonstrated last month by giving life to the foundation Mind Your Cancer: intended to take care of people and their psychological well-being, during that complex treatment path that she herself experienced, also supporting caregivers.
Bianca, those who know her say that she is a person who pays attention to the energies of others.
I couldn’t say that about myself! I’ve certainly lived many different lives. I’m no longer a little girl, but for my age I have accumulated enough experience to make me understand that, around me, I only want people capable of making me feel good. Those close to me always have something to teach. That too, perhaps, is an energy that we need to be able to grasp.
As he has already explained to us, in his turning points someone has always been left behind.
The way I have always changed my way of being, living or interpreting things has sometimes been seen as a flaw. Now I’m proud of it, those who don’t understand that trait of my personality perhaps don’t want to evolve that much. That said, I have friends who grew up with me, we evolved together. But a bond doesn’t have to last a lifetime.
After all, we grew up in a society that idealized living happily ever after. Does this vision also help you now that your daughter has moved to New York?
Matilde is eighteen, but she lived in Paris with her father for seven years: our long-distance relationship began when she was nine. Mothers who have not experienced this type of detachment may not be able to bear it, but unfortunately (and fortunately) in life you get used to everything. Now as a model she lives in New York, but is often around the world. Since she was little, she has made her own choices and traveled alone, it’s part of her personality.
Bianca Balti, photo Gosia Turczynska. Bulgari High Jewelry. Saint Laurent blouse and maxi skirt by Anthony Vaccarello. Styling: Valentina Fino. Makeup: Bianca Marzocchi. Hair: Alessia Bonotto @Blend Mgmt using Davines.
Another case that led her to change her habits again.
I’m experiencing the change. I find myself listening to hip-hop songs that I didn’t like at all, but that my daughter used to listen to in the car when I drove her to school. Now that he isn’t here, even music acquires a sentimental value in me, linked to memories: in the last two years, in Los Angeles, the three of us lived together with Mia, the youngest daughter. But today Matilde’s void is filled by my partner, even if he lives in Milan. If there’s one thing I’m proud of, as a mother, it’s that I’m not very possessive: I gave life to my girls and the idea that they can live it peacefully, as they want, makes me very happy.
In an increasingly technological world, do you have any fears when thinking about their future?
I don’t want to have any. Mia is only 10 years old and feels like a true Californian! She can draw very well on the computer, is good at video games and programming. When I try to stimulate these passions she says worriedly: “Mom, it’s no use, one day Artificial Intelligence will steal my job”. Fear is a natural feeling, but I have learned not to give it importance. I am heartened by the memory of my parents who, as a child, only made me watch half an hour of television a day, fearing that I would go blind: every generation has had its anxieties about the future and innovation.
Biaca Balti, photo Gosia Turczynska. High Jewelery and “Bulgari Serpenti” watch by Bulgari. Valentino dress. Styling: Valentina Fino. Makeup: Bianca Marzocchi. Hair: Alessia Bonotto @Blend Mgmt using Davines.
From a top model she has become a character. How have you experienced the evolution of your career?
For ten years I was part of a world that was decidedly not inclusive, where my physicality was perfect. When social media arrived I was no longer the very young woman the industry required, so I started showing myself beyond the image. At the beginning, fashion was very snobbish, especially towards Instagram, but I always followed my instincts, seizing even the most pop opportunities. When I participated in Pif’s Witness, MTV was still a cult channel: I had my first chances to really make myself known.
As a Bulgari Ambassador, in a video she explains what being an icon means to her. Does it excites you to be able to convey your thoughts while wearing beautiful jewellery?
Of course, I love to think that a viewer can be reflected in my words. I find it exciting that a brand chooses me not only for my style, but because it matches my energy. I started working with Bulgari last year in Sanremo, I loved their bold and colorful aesthetic: I wore a lot of jewelery when I had no hair, or while it was growing back. This confirmed to me that they saw something in me that went beyond the image. Then, on social media, I followed Lucia Silvestri, creative director of Bulgari: a rare example of a woman in this world and a very good communicator.
Bianca balti, photo Gosia Turczynska. Bulgari High Jewelry. Balenciaga dress. Styling: Valentina Fino. Makeup: Bianca Marzocchi. Hair: Alessia Bonotto @Blend Mgmt using Davines.
She often says that she feels reborn in this second phase of her career. Do you experience it differently?
There is no going back: I almost feel the responsibility of linking my experience to my work. Cancer affects so many people, I realized it even more the summer after the first Sanremo, when in Italy I was stopped on every street corner, hugged, thanked. There I started to feel the urge to show my strength, but also my weaknesses.
In the program Beasts She said she freed herself from resentment towards men from her past only when she realized she had chosen people who weren’t right for her. A beautiful message for many women.
After the second divorce I started psychotherapy. At a certain point, I realized that I was the one who often chose men with the same flaws. We weren’t meant to be together: in the past I ended up in situations that made me the victim of certain dynamics to confirm the negative thoughts I had about myself. They didn’t understand me, just as I didn’t understand them. Now I’m in a mature relationship, which doesn’t mean easy. But I know what it means to have a person who has the same values as you, with whom to manage that complex reality that is the “couple”. I would like to share more time with him because, especially after the illness, I understood that life is now, we have no promises of tomorrow.
Today he says he seeks depth even in lightness. How do you see your life between America and Italy?
Choosing to live peacefully is a revolutionary act. I also explain it to my daughter when she says to me: “Mom, you’re too happy!”. Los Angeles is fantastic, there are spaces, nature, a more open mentality towards minorities. But recently I started to see an opportunity in being able to help all the people in Italy who are working to change things and build communities even in the most dysfunctional situations. I would like to really be there, not just in words.