Antonia Iacobescu

Biography

Antonia Clara Iacobescu (born 12 April 1989), known professionally as Antonia, is a Romanian singer.

Early life

Antonia Clara Iacobescu was born on 12 April 1989 in Bucharest, Romania and moved with family to the United States at the age of five. She spent her childhood in Utah, singing at the age of ten, and American culture strongly influenced her musical style. She finished high school in Las Vegas, Nevada and entered the modelling world.
Iacobescu has participated in hundreds of photoshoots for catalogues and has collaborated with American agencies such as Lenz and Ford Models. In 2013, she launched her clothing line called MOJA. At the age of 18, Antonia returned to Romania with her family.

Career

In 2009, she met the Romanian producer Tom Boxer through a friend who had heard her singing. After the two met, Antonia and Tom created their first song known as "Roses on Fire". They also created a music video for the song, directed and filmed by Boxer.
In 2011, she released a single entitled "Pleacă×Pleacă11 April 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Pleacă3:08" with the Vunk band. In mid-summer of 2012, Antonia released the promotional song "I got you" and the single "Jameia×Jameia2 July 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Jamiea3:37", the latter reaching 5th place in Romania.
After the birth of her first child, Antonia returned to music as a solo singer. She released "Marionette×Marionette13 March 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Marionette3:37", written by the Dutch producer and Afrojack.
In 2014, she participated as a judge in the TV show Kids Sing, broadcast by Kanal D. On 17 April 2015, Antonia released her debut album This Is Antonia×This Is Antonia17 April 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Marabou3:372Wild Horses3:183Chica Loca2:534Shake It Mamma3:305Jameia3:466Hurricane4:197Marionette3:338Party2:599I Got You3:0510Hawaii3:5211Painkiller3:3212Morena3:34 through the Romanian record label Roton. The album contains 12 tracks and is available in physical and digital format. In 2017 Antonia participated with Alex Velea as contestants in the show Look Who's Dancing on Pro TV. Also, in 2017 and 2018, she was on the jury of the television show The Four, broadcast by Antena 1.
The artist was also chosen, because of her notoriety, to dub Janette's Romanian voice in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.

Personal life

Antonia married Italian businessman Vincenzo Castellano in 2011, and they have a daughter together, Maya Rosario Castellano (born 2010). The two separated in 2013 and were in the process of divorcing, which ended in 2020.
In 2013, Antonia started a relationship with Romanian singer Alex Velea, with whom she has two children, Dominic (born 2014) and Akim (born 2016). The two announced their engagement in July 2021.

Antonia is deeply religious. Before she married Castellano, she was a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was committed to the conservative faith, which forbids alcohol, coffee, and smoking. However, due to the Mormon Church's prohibition on inter-faith marriages, when she married Castellano, she was excluded from the Church. According to a Mormon priest that knew Antonia, it was not just Antonia's marriage to a Catholic that was controversial. The Church also found her risqué approach to modesty and her often erotic presentation in modelling and music videos problematic:"It's a great pity what she did, and that she posed naked and that she married a Catholic man. If she married a Catholic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints no longer recognizes her."Subsequently, Antonia has converted to Roman Catholicism, even baptizing her daughter Maya in that faith. She remains a devout Christian. Her current husband, Velea, is also a practicing Christian.