East Falls resident and Instagram star Simonetta Lein, known as “The Celebrity Whisperer,” lit up the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 14 as she joined television’s brightest stars for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Her Simonetta Lein Show, which is filmed and produced in East Falls, is available through streaming platforms like SLTV and on its host’s Instagram account. From its local production roots, the show has grown into a phenomenon, drawing celebrity guests, business leaders and change-makers from around the world including Mark Cuban, Ceelo …
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East Falls resident and Instagram star Simonetta Lein, known as “The Celebrity Whisperer,” lit up the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 14 as she joined television’s brightest stars for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Her Simonetta Lein Show, which is filmed and produced in East Falls, is available through streaming platforms like SLTV and on its host’s Instagram account. From its local production roots, the show has grown into a phenomenon, drawing celebrity guests, business leaders and change-makers from around the world including Mark Cuban, Ceelo Green, Danny Trejo, Kathy Ireland, the late Jerry Springer and Shaggy.
Lein’s show has become a platform for interviews, cultural commentary, wellness, fashion and lifestyle features, all tailored for a digitally engaged audience. Her special invitation to the Emmys underscores a larger shift in the entertainment industry. “Digital content is no longer secondary,” she told the Local last week. “It is shaping the future of storytelling.”
Accompanying Lein on the red carpet was her manager and husband, multi-award-winning producer Raphael Anthony Amabile, forming what insiders have called a “power couple” in media. “This isn’t just recognition for us as a team,” Amabile said. “It’s recognition for Philadelphia. It shows that world-class media can be created right here and that Philly voices deserve to be heard on the biggest stages.”
“Being at the Emmys is more than a personal milestone,” Lein said. “It’s a statement that digital media creators are an integral part of the industry, and our show is proud to be part of that evolution. Creativity, authenticity and connection are defining the next era of entertainment. Creators from online platforms are now being recognized alongside established television icons.”
When one of the celebrities on stage shouted “Go Birds!” Lein, seated among Hollywood’s elite, was quick to cheer it back, joining in the rallying cry for the Eagles. “When Philadelphia goes to the world, the world sees Philly,” she said.
Lein, 42, whose parents are both doctors, has a fine arts degree from the Academy of Fine Art in Rome and an honorary doctorate from the Universita Tiberina Ponte Sicia in Rome. Born and raised in a region of Northern Italy called Friuli-Venezia Giulia, she and her husband moved to East Falls in 2015.
“We sold everything we had and left Italy,” Lein said in an earlier interview. “Raphael is originally from North Jersey, but we fell in love with Philadelphia. We love it here.”
Lein was a columnist for Vanity Fair Italy and served as a brand ambassador to several of Italy’s top luxury fashion, accessory and beauty brands. She appeared many times on television in Italy, and her first book, “Everything Is Possible: A Novel About the Power of Dreams,” published by Sperling & Kupfer in 2013, was a bestseller in Italy. A digital, English-language version is available from Amazon.
The Italian transplant also has been a contributing fashion and lifestyle journalist and celebrity interviewer (chatting with celebrities including opera singer Andrea Bocelli and chef Lidia Bastianich) for the Huffington Post, Italo-Americano, Vogue Italia, Elle Italy and other publications. Lein has been featured locally on Fox 29, CBS3 and WMCN.
In 2015, Lein founded a nonprofit organization, the Wish Wall Foundation. Its website provides a space for people from around the world to post their deepest wish or desire on its “Wish Wall.” The foundation then collaborates with other nonprofit groups to try to make some of the wishes come true.
“So I know how to use social media tools for good,” Lein said. “This is my dream. My parents taught me to leave the world a better place than I found it. We can give money and also do good. It is huge work, but it is a dream for me.”
Lein won the Celebrity Media Personality & Influencer of the Year Award in 2022 through the World Influencers Bloggers Award at the Cannes Film Festival. As a model, she has been featured in Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair Italy and Cosmopolitan, and she has modeled for several fashion designers. She is also the chief executive officer and co-founder of Ausonia Partners, a media and public relations agency headquartered locally.
