Michelle Rocca

Michelle Mary Teresa Rocca (born 1961), is an Irish-Italian former model and television presenter, who, in 1980, won the Miss Ireland title. The following year, she married footballer John Devine. Two years after their divorce in 1990 she met and later married, Northern Irish singer Van Morrison. She is the daughter of Paddy and Maureen Rocca, and granddaughter of Italian immigrant Egidio Rocca who founded the successful business, Rocca Tiles. Career Rocca grew up in a large family with two brothers and three sisters. Rocca attended University College Dublin studying Greek and Roman Civilization and Italian and French Archaeology. She is fluent in several languages and has earned an MA degree from Trinity College in Dublin and also a degree from Bristol University. She was named Miss Ireland in 1980 and was the number 3 finalist in the Miss International 1981 pageant. She worked in the family business and also modelled until she joined RTÉ in 1987 as a television presenter. In 1988, she co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest with Pat Kenny in front of a worldwide audience of 600 million viewers. She continued to model, with occasional presenting jobs, such as the Miss World 1990 contest in London.