It’s been nearly 25 years since our pre-teen hearts were sent racing being introduced to Italian superstar Paolo in The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
In 2001 the teen comedy series starring Hilary Duff premiered on the Disney Channel.
It followed schoolgirl Lizzie as she navigated the personal and social issues of her teenage years, accompanied by an animated version of herself that also expressed her inner thoughts and emotions.
The series also starred Lalaine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, Hallie Todd, and Robert Carradine.
It was a huge hit and was nominated for two Emmy Awards, also inspiring the 2003 film which followed Lizzie and her classmates as they travelled to Rome for a graduation trip.
But after getting mistaken for an Italian pop star called Isabella, Lizzie embarked on an adventure (complete with a concert in the Colosseum), led by pop star Paolo.
Despite his scheming ways eventually being revealed, the character and his Italian charm did capture the attention of teen girls.
Paolo was actually played by actor Yani Gellman, who was born in Miami, Florida and lived in Australia, Spain and Texas before his family settled in Toronto, Canada.
Yano, who has a degree in political science, made his acting debut in a 1998 episode of the TV series, Animorphs.
He then went on to appear in the films Urban Legends: Final Cut and Jason X, playing characters who both eventually became victims of serial killers.
But it was The Lizzie McGuire Movie that saw him become the crush of teen girls around the world.
After that movie Yani played Rafe Torres in The Young and the Restless from 2008 until 2012, Garrett Reynolds in Pretty Little Liars, and Diego in 90210.
His most notable roles in recent years have been on The Saint, Dynasty and Bosch.
Yani, who has more than 20,000 Instagram followers, regularly shares updates with his fans.
In recent months the 39-year-old, who is now rocking some stubble, has posted photos kayaking, playing ice hockey, and last month joked about Canada rejecting US President Donald Trump’s assertion he wanted the country to become the ‘51st state’.
In 2023, to mark the 20th anniversary of The Lizzie McGuire Movie, he wrote: ‘This film has meant more to me than words can say… here’s to the best community of fans and supporters anywhere – thank you for an amazing run. This truly is what dreams are made of.’
In 2018 Yani told Too Fab he would jump at the chance to play Paolo again in a reboot to give him a ‘chance at redemption’.
‘I think that there’s potentially even a bit of a story there about like what happens to these characters after this trip,’ he said.
‘I’ve always felt that Paolo had a heart bigger than what he kind of showed in those moments.
‘The character would love a chance at redemption. So you know I would definitely be open to considering that if it came around.’
Although a revival of the series was announced in 2019 and began production, it was officially cancelled the following year.
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