Italia Ricci

Italia Ricci was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, on October 29, 1986. She is of Italian descent and holds dual Canadian-American citizenship. Ricci pursued her education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, graduating in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts and Science. During her time at university, she engaged in charitable work for organizations such as Water Can, which focuses on providing water access in Africa, and has also been a supporter of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and a Stand Up To Cancer ambassador.

Ricci began her acting career in 2007 with a role in the direct-to-video film “American Pie Presents: Beta House.” The following years saw her take on recurring roles in television series like the Disney XD’s “Aaron Stone” and the Comedy Central’s “Secret Girlfriend.” She also made guest appearances in well-known American productions including “How I Met Your Mother,” “House,” and “Greek.” In 2010, she featured in the Cartoon Network live-action series “Unnatural History” as Maggie Winnock and appeared in a commercial for Clean & Clear.

A significant turn in her career came with her leading role as April Carver in the ABC Family series “Chasing Life” from 2014 to 2015, where she played a character diagnosed with leukemia. Following this, from 2016 to 2019, Ricci co-starred as Emily Rhodes, the White House Chief of Staff and Special Advisor, in the ABC political drama “Designated Survivor.” She also portrayed Siobhan Smythe / Silver Banshee in five episodes of The CW’s “Supergirl” in 2016. Her recent work includes playing Dr. Sydney Burke in the Netflix series “The Imperfects” in 2022 and starring in several Hallmark Channel films, such as “Rome in Love” (2019), “Love in Winterland” (2020), “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (2021), “Catch Me If You Claus” (2023), and “Trading Up Christmas” (2024). She became a U.S. citizen in January 2020.