Bebe Vio

Bebe Vio is an inspirational paralympic champion who defied the odds and successfully rebuilt her life and career. After losing both her arms and legs to meningitis, Bebe decided not to let her disability stop her from doing what she loved, fencing. As a speaker, Bebe talks on the importance of courage, strength, and determination in relation to her story and in general. Her engaging and motivational speaker style establishes Bebe as a true role model and thus, a highly regarded keynote speaker. 

After spending three and a half months in hospital and enduring plastic surgery and several skin transplants, Bebe refused to give up on her dream. She soon learned to live with her artificial limbs and eventually found a way to start fencing again, with her aim being to compete at Paralympic level. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Bebe was chosen as a torchbearer for the opening ceremony due to many people emailing the International Paralympic Committee supporting her. Bebe’s first notable achievement in wheelchair fencing was winning a gold medal at the Italian Championship in 2012.  She then followed this with a silver medal at the World Championships in the under-17 category. 

Throughout her career, Bebe has been recognised with many awards and honours, she was awarded the shared title of Italian Paralympic Athlete of the Year by the Italian Paralympics Committee. She also received the Mangiarotti award from the Italian Olympic Committee. After qualifying to the 2016 Summer Paralympics as the top-ranked fencer in her category, Bebe went the full way and won gold. She then defended this win in 2021. Bebe has also been honoured as the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the 2017 Laureus World Sports awards. As the author of two books, ‘I Have a Dream’ and ‘Se Sembra Impossibile Allora Si Puo Fare’ (if it seems impossible then it can be done), Bebe aims to spread her story as an example of determination and achievement against odds. Her life has been depicted in a Netflix documentary, Rising Phoenix, where she features among other Paralympians. Bebe is also a co-founder of art4sport, which is an organisation that uses sports as a means of supporting children who underwent amputations. 

As a keynote speaker, Bebe is an advocate for vaccine awareness. She is determined to use her story to inspire, educate, and empower her audiences to never give up and to push through difficult times. She has participated in many events and conventions for companies such as Audi, L’Oreal Paris, Nespresso, Nike Europe, and many more. If you are looking for an influential exemplar of resilience and courage, hire Bebe today!