Born in Norfolk, Virginia Angelina was raised in a culturally diverse household. Her father, an Italian American and her mother, a first generation Turk.
As a result of her father's extensive military career, she was fortunate enough to start traveling at a very early age. Living in Virginia, New Jersey as well as a 2-year tour in Japan provided Angelina with the perfect introduction to regional cuisines.
Angelina spent most of her school years growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. After graduating, she moved with her family to Cyprus, Turkey. It was there that she learned to appreciate the complexity of the Mediterranean diet. She absorbed with enthusiasm, the deep understanding of how the dishes are prepared, along with the steep history that went along with those dishes.
After, Cyprus, Angelina worked in London as a bar maid in a pub. She immersed herself in the cuisine and the English culture. She came back to the states with an appreciation for food and looked for opportunities to share her traveling experiences through those dishes.
When Angelina returned from overseas, she took a small detour in her 20's to wrestle for a show filming at the Rivera Hotel. The show was called G.L.O.W. - Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Her characters name was Little Egypt. Angelina had no idea the show would become iconic. During its 4 year run in the United States, it pulled in over 6 million viewers a week. It then went into global syndication and continued to pick up fans over the next 10 years.
Little Egypt along with the other original G.L.O.W girls have become legends in female wrestling. With the popularity of You Tube, the show has created a huge cult following.
Smashing Pumpkins, lead singer, Billy Corgan released his song in September of 2008, titled G.L.O.W, dedicated to the show and a Houston based film crew just finished taping a documentary based on the show and background stories of the wrestlers.
In fall of 2006, Angelina began writing her cookbook called "The Great American Melting Pot" It has been a labor of love and great care was taken to re-create the classics in an easy to follow informative style. Through Angelina's 20-year culinary journey she is able to put herself in the mindset of a curious spectator. Her writing style is friendly, welcoming and personal. She has researched historical facts regarding American favorites and has been able to condense the history and origins, so it could be easily understood.
Angelina continues to stay active in the wrestling community, appearing on several talk radio shows, and as the un-official spokesperson of the GLOW girls, she spear- headed the only reunion and is also a professional speaker and mentor. Angelina will be lecturing this April at the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion. She will be addressing wrestlers about the effectiveness of cross- promoting, branding and the benefits of social media.
Based in her hometown of Las Vegas, Angelina still enjoys traveling around the United States and Europe in search of inspirational dishes. She has written over 300 recipes that were influenced by those travels. With an intense passion for food, culture and history, Angelina continues to search for countries hidden culinary treasures, as she discovers day after day, that we really do live in "The Great American Melting Pot.
Angelina is happily married to her husband of 20 years she has an 18 year old son, as well as writing two additional cookbooks.
Angelina embraces everyday of her life with found memories and opportunities to grow and share.
