Frankie Valli is one of the most well-known singers of the 20th century thanks to his band and prosperous solo career. His granddaughter Olivia Valli is carrying on his legacy by pursuing a career in acting and singing.
Popular songs including “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” are associated with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Olivia is one of the two granddaughters and six children of the well-known falsetto.
Broadway has taken a shine to Frankie’s life; the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, which won four Tony Awards in 2005, is based on him and the Four Seasons. Olivia really made an appearance as her own grandma in the show’s off-Broadway production.
Olivia commanded the cast of Pretty Woman: The Musical’s nationwide tour in 2021. She understudied the part a few years before taking the lead in the national touring production of Wicked as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, starting in May 2023.
She said on Instagram, “It’s time to try defying gravity full time,” beside a picture of herself looking like a witch when she was seven years old. I’m sending this one to you, tiny witch. If only you were aware of what waited for you. Are you not pleased with how things turned out?
But Olivia Valli, who is she? Here are some details concerning her career as a theatrical actor and her relationship with her grandfather, Frankie Valli.
She’s starring in Wicked
Olivia has been playing Elphaba, the lead character, in the national touring company of Wicked since May 2023.
She shared a picture of herself in costume just a few days after making her debut. She wrote, referencing the show’s lyrics, “Everyone deserves the chance to fly.” I now find so much more meaning in those songs. I enter work each day filled with gratitude. I appreciate you allowing me to soar once more, @wicked_musical.
She had previously been in Wicked. Olivia served as Elphaba’s backup for the national tour from 2016 to 2019, according to Playbill.
Frankie surprised her one evening by going to a performance. She posted the following beside a picture of herself and her granddad on the Wicked stage: “My cheeks still hurt from smiling so much.” There were also a lot of happy tears shed. The nicest surprise I could have asked for was having my grandfather attend the performance.
She played Vivian in Pretty Woman: The Musical
Olivia played Vivian, a role made famous by Julia Roberts in the 1990 movie, opposite Rent star Adam Pascal, who played Edward, during Pretty Woman: The Musical’s 2022 national tour. It was her first significant leading role, and in order to develop her persona, she looked to her past.
“I plan to incorporate a more Jersey-inspired element into it,” she stated to DC Theater Arts in 2022. “I lean toward humor because I like to use humor to cope or get through difficult situations, and I’m naturally witty.”
She portrayed her own grandmother on stage
Olivia’s breakthrough performance occurred in 2019 when she was cast in a role in Jersey Boys, and not just any role at all. In the off-Broadway staging of the play, she played Mary Delgado, the grandmother of the performer. Frankie’s first wife was Delgado.
Olivia wrote on Instagram, “I am so excited to be honoring my family by playing my grandma in Jersey Boys.” “I am very grateful to @jerseyboysbroadway for this once-in-a-lifetime chance. “Everything is about family.”
When her grandfather heard the news, he was taken aback by her pride. “I was ecstatic. It was unbelievable to me,” Frankie said to PEOPLE. “However, I knew it existed because I had saw Olivia perform a concert while she was still in school, prior to her being a professional. All she needed was the chance.”
She has a long musical lineage
Olivia is the daughter of Gerry Polci, a former Four Seasons drummer, and Antonia “Toni” Valli, Frankie’s daughter. Toni stated in 1995 to The New York Times, “I first saw him when I was 15.” “The moment I laid eyes on him for the first time, I fell in love.” He was the best drummer my father had ever heard, according to my father, who had been gushing over him.
Her first memory is of Frankie performing
Olivia initially discovered that her grandfather was well-known when she was quite little and witnessed him perform. “The huge memory, the first memory I ever had, was of him at an outdoor music venue in Jersey. Olivia stated to PEOPLE in 2022, “I believe it was PNC [Bank Arts Center], and I was just bopping along.”
“I thought, ‘My grandfather sounds like a really talented singer.'” This is amazing. We were really close to the front, so when I turn back, all I see is this tsunami of people,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh, he’s a big deal.'” God, oh God. And I asked my mother, “Mom, is Grandpa famous?” to which she replied, “Yes.”
She and her grandfather have a special bond
Olivia told PEOPLE of her grandfather, “he’s actually a really big jokester,” when he was at home with the family. He enjoys being silly and simply making people laugh. It consisted of little more than constant laughter and story-telling about stuff like how to cook delicious sauce.”
They have a special fondness for Italian cuisine. “Sign me up! I’m in love with lobster ravioli! Olivia said, “A scampi of shrimp and penne vodka.” Regarding Frankie: “I enjoy pasta with lentils, pasta with peas, and eggplant.” If it were up to me, I could eat spaghetti every single day.”
Frankie admires her work ethic
Olivia’s well-known granddad claims to see the same drive and commitment in her as he does. “Her work efforts are incredible, and she’s dedicated to what she is doing,” he stated. “And I am very much the same way.”
In his opinion, there is never too much performance. In 2008, Frankie said to PEOPLE, “If you love what you do, you never get enough of it.”
She sees performing as her family’s heritage
Olivia became overwhelmed when the Valli family came to see her perform as Elphaba in Wicked. “It seemed like the most appropriate method to respect our heritage and the reality that this voice does run in our family,” she said to PEOPLE. “This is also me leaving my mark on our family, because we are really passionate about what we do.”
