Giada Del Drago was born in Dublin, Ireland and raised in Canada, attending Canada’s National Ballet School from age 9 and graduating as the Valedictorian from Brentwood College School.
She was selected to model on the catwalk in Paris for Hubert de Givenchy at age 17 and graduated with a BA in Fine Art/Film & Video from Central St. Martins College of Art & Design in London. Collaborations in fashion, music and art followed with designers Noel Stewart, Mei Hui Liu, Julian Smith, Dolly Dare, Philip Colbert and Johnny Blue Eyes and composers Gabriel Prokofiev, Nick Lloyd Webber and Marius de Vries.
She emerged as an award-winning independent film-maker, a creative consultant and coach.
Whilst still a student, she landed a starring role on German Soap Opera LINDENSTRASSE and also worked as the personal assistant to Oscar-Nominated documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer in London. She went on to work at MTV Europe as a researcher and talent manager and on the Channel 4 trend programme “Slave”, before being hired by Producer/Director Jeremy Wooding to assist him in development and production of film and television projects. She also shot the making-of documentary for his first feature film BOLLYWOOD QUEEN,
During this period, she was also curator and host of multi-media events at The Andaz/Great Eastern Hotel and of smaller monthly events in their members club. She contributed to “The Urban Dictionary” where she coined the term “Artwear”, inspired by her work on a limited edition customised clothing label she created with graffitti artist Jinja Rox.
She founded Kitsch Palace Records as a platform for experimental audio-visual collaborations writing songs and signing/promoting other artists. This project toured nightclubs and art galleries in Europe and the U.S.A, culminating with the release of two albums on itunes “Tales from The Wonderground” and “The Looking Glass” and a bringing a group of artists for a "Seeds of Tolerance" commissioned performance piece at the opening of The Venice Biennale d’Arte in 2007.
An artistic residency followed at The Gershwin Hotel NYC, where she lived on the 13th floor and produced/presented “A.I.R” interviews for their in-house tv channel, starred in a film by Anton Perich made at the hotel and exec-produced/acted in a film about war veterans by Chris Martini.
Through Little Wonder Productions, she has Written, Directed, Produced and Executive-Produced short films, documentaries and feature films since the year 2000.
She observes: “I have made fun films about artists and pop culture and experimental films dealing with mental health issues. At a certain point, when I was working 24/7 on multiple projects in different countries; I faced a cross road of burn out or wake up. I chose to study the healing arts and deepen my understanding of yoga and meditation. Writing music and filmmaking remains a creative process in my life, attracting talented collaborators and interesting people to interview everywhere I go”.
In 2013 she wrote, directed and produced WALK WITH ME? starring Loyse de Pury. The film is her love letter to London “a city full of creatives” – and it centres on an insomniac writer in search of inspiration and healing.
Making this film inspired Giada to become more of a healer herself, through ongoing yoga, meditation and holistic studies; from reiki to breath work, mindfulness, sound healing and homeopathy. She also completed a one year Life Coaching diploma with The Visionary Leadership Corporation and began teaching yoga and life coaching at The Light Centre Belgravia, London and community classes at The Yoga Barn in Ubud, Bali.
She joined The Bali Spirit Festival as a publicist and media consultant, producing and presenting their video and radio content and conducting interviews from a sweaty press tent in the jungle.
Drawing on her extensive experience in the creative and wellness industries, she is now a consultant, focused on innovation, self-expression and high vibe living. She is increasingly in demand as a keynote speaker, broadcaster and writer on wellbeing and creativity.
She founded “Sage & Strong” retreats and workshops to activate and empower transformations and healing.
Current projects include “TLC: The Light Conversations” a healing and wellness podcast available on itunes/spotify and “The Culture Kitchen” a BBC Radio show.
(Thanks to Greg Day for editing the bio)