Fabio Was Clueless About His Romance Novel Cover Fame

Fabio Lanzoni, 2014. Photo by Glenn Francis under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Fabio's likeness was everywhere in the 1990s, but he reportedly didn't realize the extent until a nightclub encounter with fans one night in Miami.

Italian Model

Fabio Lanzoni, who is from Milan, Italy, was already a model for well-known brands like Versace^® and The Gap^® when book publishers started asking him to take photos for their book covers. His pictures became very popular, often showing him with his long hair blowing and his muscles shining. Because of these photo shoots, Fabio ended up appearing on the covers of over 1,300 romance novels, but he apparently had no idea how much the photos had boosted his exposure. In a 2021 interview on PEOPLE's "PEOPLE in the '90s" podcast, Fabio reflected on his early fame, figuring he had been doing romance novel shoots for about a year and a half before he even noticed how popular the photos had become.

Nightclub Surprise

As Fabio recalls it, his big moment of realization came one night at a nightclub in Miami when three fans of the books came up to him. "Three girls come up to me and they go, 'Oh my God. You look exactly like the guy on our books.' And I'm like, 'Honey, that's a great pick-up line.' Like, 'Oooh I like you, I've never heard that before,'" he laughed. The fans insisted, but Fabio remained skeptical. "I had no idea because I was thinking [they were just taking] pictures. So I didn't know what they were doing [with the pictures] after." One woman left the club to run home and grab her copies of the books. When she returned and showed Fabio, he realized the fans were correct. "And I go like, 'Oh my God, that's me,'" he said. "The first time when I saw those books ... I remember this one and that one and that one. And I go like, 'Yeah, that's me. That's weird.'"

Romance Novel Fame and Beyond

Later on, Fabio would find himself surrounded by fans at romance novel conventions. He explained the fans at these conventions wanted to live out a fantasy. "They want to be that woman on the cover," he said. "They wanted to be in the picture with me and they thought they would be the heroine." As he explained, books market a fantasy that holds a lot of appeal for his female fans — even more than a movie would. "Because when you read the book, you really have your own fantasy, and not the fantasy of some director or producer. And so it gets even more into your consciousness. These women are very, very into the romance novel ... to the point where it's really in their psyche."

Fabio went on to grace the cover of PEOPLE magazine in 1993, and his fame skyrocketed, with his name appearing on all kinds of products: hair-care items, fitness videos, posters, and even a clothing line at Sam's Club. He became even more famous with roles in movies like "Dude, Where's My Car?," "Spy Hard," and "Death Becomes Her," and on TV shows like "Step by Step" and "Guiding Light," often playing himself. And, of course, he was also known for those I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!^® commercials.

Nonetheless, Fabio has not forgotten how amazed he was to learn that so many people knew him from those book covers early in his career, and that his image had become so iconic. It was a funny and unexpected moment, but it helped him see just how big of an impact his work had made.

References: Fabio Had No Idea He Was a Romance Novel Cover Star Until He Was Approached by Fans at a Nightclub | Fabio's 1993 PEOPLE Cover Helped His 'Conservative' Dad Understand Him and Say, 'I'm So Proud of You' (Exclusive) | Fabio: People in the '90s