Italian actress and chef Silvia Colloca has revealed the struggle of living in the shadow of her Rake actor husband, Richard Roxburgh.
Silvia and Richard, 56, were both working as actors in London when they met on the set of 2004 Hollywood blockbuster, Van Helsing.
Speaking in the The Australian Women’s Weekly, the 41-year-old said she wasn’t taken seriously when the couple relocated Down Under in 2009.
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‘I ate a massive dose of humble pie’: Italian actress and chef Silvia Colloca has admitted she lived ‘in the shadow’ of her husband Richard Roxburgh after the couple relocated to Australia
‘I ate a massive dose of humble pie,’ Silvia confessed, adding that she was forced to take ‘unpaid work’ as an actress.
‘I quickly realised that anything I did internationally just didn’t translate,’ she said of her new life in Australian showbusiness.
Now a popular food blogger, Silvia has just released her third cookbook Laugh, Love, Bake.
Silvia, who is a trained opera singer, has previously appeared in several successful stage shows touring throughout Italy.
‘I quickly realised that anything I did internationally just didn’t translate’: The couple met while working on 2004 film Van Helsing, before relocating to Australia four years later. Here in 2012
While trying to establish herself in Australia, Silvia said she was often thought of as ‘somebody’s wife’ due to Richard’s fame – despite being highly accomplished in her own right.
‘I think there was a little bit of, “She’s somebody’s wife and she wants to act”, which made it difficult to get a leg up,’ she said.
Indeed, she claimed that being publicly referred to as Richard Roxburgh’s wife so often cast a long shadow over her.
‘I think there was a little bit of ‘She’s somebody’s wife and she wants to act’: Silvia said it was difficult trying to establish herself in her husband’s home country. Pictured here in 2008
‘Instead of the beautiful thing being that I’m married to a beautiful man who loves me and supports me, there’s constantly someone trying to put me in his shadow,’ she told the Weekly.
After nearly a decade living in Australia, Silvia said she is determined to be recognised for her own achievements.
Silvia and Richard share three children, Raphael, 11, Miro, eight, and Luna, 18 months and live in Sydney.
‘I should stop and be the mum I need to be’: After a hard time trying to establish herself as an actress, Silvia slowed down in order to refocus on family. Pictured here with daughter, Luna