Lavinia Valbonesi | |
---|---|
First Lady of Ecuador | |
Assumed role 23 November 2023 | |
President | Daniel Noboa |
Preceded by | María de Lourdes Alcívar Crespo |
Personal details | |
Born | Ángela Lavinia Valbonesi Acosta 8 April 1998 Chone, Ecuador |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Carondelet Palace |
Education | Liceo Panamericano |
Occupation |
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Ángela Lavinia Valbonesi Acosta (born 8 April 1998) is an Ecuadorian businesswoman, nutritionist, and social media influencer [1] [2] who is the current first lady of Ecuador since 2023 as the wife of President Daniel Noboa. [3]
A nutritionist, Valbonesi owns a healthy dining establishment, fitness center and has specialized in healthier diets and weight loss. [4] [5] She has also gained a large social media following on Instagram and TikTok, amassing over 338,000 and nearly 620,000 followers respectively. [6]
Valbonesi was born Ángela Lavinia Valbonesi Acosta on 8 April 1998 in Chone, Ecuador, daughter of Furio Valbonesi (1953-2024) [7] [8] and Gloria Acosta an Ecuadorian mother (b. January 16, 1968) [9]. [10] [1], is the daughter in-law of the former ecuadorian presidential candidate Álvaro Noboa and his wife Anabella Azín. [11] She was raised in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. [6] She studied at the Liceo Panamericano. She specializes in nutrition and is a nutritionist coach and personal trainer. [10] Valbonesi stated that when she was 15 years old, she had body image issues until she attended a fitness conference in Australia in 2015. [3]
Valbonesi maintains a fitness center in Tampa, Florida. [4] Valbonesi is the owner of a healthy dining establishment, Green Deli, located in Guayaquil. [12] As a nutritionist, she specializes in weight loss, body composition, bodybuilding and composing healthy diets for patients. [5]
Aside from her nutritionist career, she had garnered a large online following with over 338,000 Instagram followers and 209,000 on TikTok followers. [6] She began her social media career in 2014 at the age of 16. [4] At first, her social media posts focused on her personal life, modeling and her lifestyle, however she soon began focusing on nutrition and fitness. [4] She has also modeled for several beauty care brands such as Herbal Essences. [12]
During the 2023 Ecuadorian presidential elections, she accompanied her husband Daniel Noboa during the campaign trail. [13] In August 2023, when her husband came in second place and advanced to the run-off, Valbonesi was the most searched person on Google in the country. [3] Valbonesi utilized her social media status to influence Noboa's campaign with the younger voters and boosted his image. [6] She remained popular through her fashion style during the campaign trail. [12] Her clothing choice of wearing white was noted during the election cycle, even wearing a white bulletproof vest during campaign events. [14] [3]
In the weeks leading to the run-off election, supporters of Noboa began promoting the idea of Valbonesi becoming first lady rather than her husband becoming president. [14] Her Guayaquil-based restaurant Green Deli, began selling the 'First Lady Smoothie' before the run-off election. [14]
On 15 October 2023, Noboa was elected president, making Valbonesi the first lady-designate of the country. [13] She is the country's youngest first lady at the age of 25. [13]
Valbonesi became first lady of Ecuador when her husband was inaugurated president on 23 November 2023. [15] She has said that one of her first initiatives as first lady is to provide assistance to single mothers in the country. [5]
In 2019, she met Daniel Noboa when he hired her as his personal nutritionist to lose weight while he was married. [4] [12] [16] They were married on 28 August 2021. [17] They have two sons. [18] [19]
In an interview with Radio Centro, Valbonesi expressed her "horror" when Noboa shifted from his business career to politics when he ran for the National Assembly in the 2021 election. [5] However, she quickly shifted her attitude after joining Noboa on the campaign trail. [5]