Former soccer player and contemporary artist Marco Perego-Saldana is from Italy. He is wed to dancer and actress Zoe Saldana from the United States. Perego hailed from a lowly family; his father was a waiter and his mother was a homemaker. When he was younger, he was quite interested in painting, but soccer, his first love, took precedence. Before sustaining a leg injury, he continued to play professional soccer until he was 21 years old. He had to give up playing soccer and move to New York to pursue his artistic aspirations. To make ends meet, he started working odd jobs like busboy, waiter, and soccer coach. His major break in the art world occurred through a mutual friend, to whom he sold his first work. With time, Perego developed into a well-known artist on a global scale, whose paintings fetch roughly $30,000 each. For Dolce and Gabbana’s 2008 campaign, “Where the Fashion Meets Art,” he painted the background.
Career of Marco Perego
Marco Perego gave up his desire to play soccer and relocated to New York City in the fall of 2002 with the intention of becoming an artist. He worked odd jobs during the early months to support himself. He worked as a waiter, busboy, and even a soccer instructor while residing in Spanish Harlem and then 104th Street.
Gilda Moratti, a member of the illustrious Moratti family of New York, was the buyer of his first picture. She went to see his artwork one day as his friend’s sister. He solicited her candid feedback and even threatened to explore another line of employment if she did not approve of it. She ultimately decided to purchase one of his paintings. Over the ensuing years, he steadily advanced his profession. After he achieved success, his paintings started to sell for between $15,000 and $30,000 each piece.
Glenn O’Brien, a writer and art critic, claims that Perego’s artwork is rooted in the long-standing Mediterranean tradition. He still adheres to his former Hellenistic beliefs. His sculpture, “The Only Good Rockstar Is a Dead Rockstar,” which appears to have predicted the passing of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, was featured on the front cover of “The Guardian” in 2007.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Museo Tuscolano in Rome, Art Basel Miami, among other illustrious art fairs, and Zurich’s Galerie Gmurzynska all hosted Perego’s art exhibitions in 2012. He published “Burn to Shine,” a 25-minute short film made out of more than 2,500 drawings, three years later.
Individual Life of Marco Perego
In a working-class household, Marco Perego was born on March 1st, 1979 in Sal, Italy. His mother was a housewife, and his father worked as a waiter. Perego enjoyed art as a child, but soccer was his true passion. Throughout his adolescence, he participated in the sport, and at age 17, he was selected for Venice’s professional soccer squad. But when he was 21 years old, he sustained a leg injury that ended his time playing soccer. He initially left Italy and migrated to Brazil in order to recover and eventually return to the sport, but he eventually gave up and came to New York City in order to pursue his dream of being an artist.
Perego started dating American dancer and actress Zoe Saldana in March 2013. They were wed in a private ceremony in London in June, three months later. Both of them are progressive, and after getting married, they defied several cultural expectations. Both Zoe and Marco changed their last names to Perego-Saldana. Together, they have three boys. Bowie Ezio and Cy Aridio Perego-Saldana, twins, were born on November 27, 2014; Zen Perego-Saldana, their younger sibling, was born in February 2017. Because they want their kids to be fluent in both Spanish and English, Marco and Zoe are raising their kids to be multilingual.
The net worth of Marco Perego
The estimated net worth of Marco Perego is about $1 million.
Trivia
It is said that his swarthy appearance and long bleached hair earned him the moniker “The Pirate.”