Beppe Grillo (b. 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger and political activist who established the
Five Star Movement in 2009. Born in
Genoa, Grillo became well known as a comic through several television shows in the 1980s, but following jokes which attacked the corruption of the
Italian Socialist Party and its leader
Bettino Craxi he was banned from television. Grillo continued to tour as a comedian while speaking out against corruption and banking scandals, and in 2005
Time named him a European hero.
Photograph: Niccolò Caranti