Annunziata Dell'Olio was born in New York City to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, and is the eldest of four children.

[6] In 1990, Dell'Olio married Giancarlo Mazza and established her own legal practice, specialising in property law.

[14] Dell'Olio presented her own one woman show, co scripted by comedian Diane Spencer, called Rainbows from Diamonds at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014.

[citation needed] in January 2022 she appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity Coach Trip partnered with singer Chesney Hawkes.

"[18] Dell'Olio is the chairwoman of Truce International, the British-based charity she founded with Eriksson, which aims to use football as a means of uniting people in areas affected by war.

[citation needed] In May 1998, Dell'Olio was introduced to Sven-Göran Eriksson, the manager of the Lazio football team, and they began a relationship six months later.

In the beginning of 2002, Eriksson had a short-lived affair with television presenter Ulrika Jonsson, but he returned to Dell'Olio.

[20] As Alam had also had an affair with FA CEO, Mark Palios, when the media got hold of the story, it became high profile and made leading headlines in newspapers and on television.