Adamo Angelo Ruggiero is an Italian-Canadian actor best known for his role of Marco Del Rossi in Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...

.

Career

Ruggiero has been acting since the age of seven or eight. He has starred in many plays including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...

and Bye Bye Birdie. After initially auditioning for the role of Craig Manning (a role currently played by Jake Epstein

Jake Epstein

Jacob Lee "Jake" Epstein is a Canadian actor and singer, perhaps best known for playing Craig Manning, a bipolar musician, on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Personal life:...

), he joined the Degrassi cast in 2002 in the role of Marco Del Rossi, a gay teenager who struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality. Adamo is the host of The Next Star

The Next Star

The Next Star is a Canadian reality television show on YTV hosted by Adamo Ruggiero. The show is a competition to find the most talented singer in Canada who is under 15 years of age. The next star inspires many to come and audition for their chance to win the next star. Winning contestants are...

. In November 2008, it was announced that Ruggiero would star in the gay-themed Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 film Make the Yuletide Gay

Make the Yuletide Gay

Make the Yuletide Gay is a 2009 American romantic comedy film about a gay college student who is "out" at school, but is afraid to reveal his sexual orientation to his parents. The Christmas-themed film was written and directed by Rob Williams. It stars Keith Jordan as Gunn, and Adamo Ruggiero as...

. Principal filming started December 3, 2008.

Personal life

Ruggiero's father, Tony, was born in Coreno Ausonio

Coreno Ausonio

Coreno Ausonio is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 120 km southeast of Rome and about 50 km southeast of Frosinone at the foot of Monte Maio, in the Monti Aurunci....

 (Frosinone

Frosinone

Frosinone is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the Province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 km south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples Autostrada A1...

, Lazio), Italy. Ruggiero's mother's name is Amalia. He has an older brother named Adriano. He is from an Italian Catholic family. Adamo attended the Roman Catholic St. Dunstan Elementary School and graduated from Cawthra Park Secondary School

Cawthra Park Secondary School

Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as CPSS, is a public high school located in Southeast Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.Cawthra Park provides instruction to students from grades 9 to 12 and is under the jurisdiction of the Peel District School Board....

, both in Mississauga, Ontario

Mississauga, Ontario

Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...

.

Ruggiero came out

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 in January 2008, saying "I come from a traditional Italian family but they aren't so traditional that me being gay was a deal breaker." He also landed the cover of the January 23 – February 5, 2008 issue of fab

Fab (magazine)

fab is a Canadian magazine which targets the gay community. The magazine publishes biweekly issues in Toronto, Ontario. It publishes alternate weeks to the city's other biweekly gay publication, Xtra!...

 magazine.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2002–2009	Degrassi: The Next Generation Degrassi: The Next Generation Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...	Marco Del Rossi	Supporting role (Season 2) Regular role (Seasons 3–7) Guest appearance (Season 8-9)
2009	Degrassi Goes Hollywood Degrassi Goes Hollywood Paradise City: Degrassi Goes Hollywood is a 2009 Canadian film adaptation of the popular, long-running teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. The movie premiered in the United States on The N on 14 August 2009, and in Canada on CTV on 30 August 2009. It was directed by veteran Degrassi...	Marco Del Rossi	Film (made for TV)
2009	Make the Yuletide Gay Make the Yuletide Gay Make the Yuletide Gay is a 2009 American romantic comedy film about a gay college student who is "out" at school, but is afraid to reveal his sexual orientation to his parents. The Christmas-themed film was written and directed by Rob Williams. It stars Keith Jordan as Gunn, and Adamo Ruggiero as...	Nathan Stanford	Film
2008–Present	The Next Star The Next Star The Next Star is a Canadian reality television show on YTV hosted by Adamo Ruggiero. The show is a competition to find the most talented singer in Canada who is under 15 years of age. The next star inspires many to come and audition for their chance to win the next star. Winning contestants are...	Himself	Host

External links