[2] Canalis was educated in Sassari, where she attended the "classical" high school (liceo classico), and then moved to Milan to study foreign languages at Università degli Studi di Milano, though she never graduated because she started to work as a dancer for Silvio Berlusconi's TV channel Canale 5 at the age of 21.

Canalis had minor roles in the films Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo[4] and Virgin Territory, a comedy produced by Roberto Cavalli.

[10] In February 2011, she co-hosted the most important Italian song contest, Sanremo Music Festival with Gianni Morandi and Belen Rodriguez,[11] during which she interviewed Robert De Niro .

For two nights, she co-hosted for the second time the Sanremo Music Festival 2012 and acted with the singer Adriano Celentano in the role of "Messy Italia".

Canalis was previously engaged to footballer Christian Vieri,[31] and she also had a short relationship with film director Gabriele Muccino following his divorce.

[34] On 23 November 2011, Canalis and Clooney were among 200 witnesses accepted by a Milan court in the trial of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute, a scandal dubbed "Rubygate".

[36] During the wedding, Italian singer Bianca Atzei sang the traditional Sardinian song Ave Maria.

[38] In July 2023, Canalis said that she and Perri were separated pending a divorce, and that she was romantically involved with Romanian kickboxer Giorgian Cimpeanu.