In 1989, Kevin James made his stand-up comedy debut at the East Side Comedy Club in Long Island. From there, he went on to do shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman & Conan O’Brien, and even The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
In the late 90s, Kevin moved to Los Angeles, where he befriended Ray Romano and got to guest star in a few episodes of the old school sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. From there, Kevin got his own CBS show, The King of Queens, where he played the hubby of Saved by the Bell star, Leah Remini. It was while filming The King of Queens that Kevin James met his gorgeous wife, Steffiana de la Cruz.
The question that a lot of people have been asking, though, is who is Steffiana? We were able to answer that question. Keep scrolling to read 10 things we learned about the model/actress.
10 Her Real Name Is Stephanie Anna Marie Zantua
In Hollywood, it’s not uncommon for celebrities to change some parts of their names. Take Kevin, for example - he was actually born Kevin George Knipfing and chose the stage name, Kevin James, which gives him two first names! His wife, Steffiana, also changed her name.
Now known as Steffiana de la Cruz, her birth name is actually Stephanie Anna Marie Zantua. Many might agree that Steffiana de la Cruz is very unique - it suits her more.
9 She Has Been Married To Kevin For 16 Years
While researching Steffiana's life and career, we learned that she and Kevin actually met on a blind date back in 2001. They were only together a few short months before they realized that they were head over heels in love, so they moved into together.
By fall of 2003, they were engaged and they both said their “I Do’s” on June 19, 2004, at St. Edward Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. The two lovebirds have now been happily married for 16 years.
8 She Received Her First On-Screen Role Back In 1997
While Kevin has a long list of career accomplishments, from starring on different shows as a comedian, to portraying other types of roles in a long list of different TV shows and movies, Steffiana de la Cruz’s list of acting credits is a bit shorter.
Her first on-screen role was a small cameo appearance in the 1997 TV series, Die Gang. From there, she went on to do a few other small TV roles, such as Pacific Blue, Something to Sing About, Soulkeeper, and Stealing Harvard, before appearing in a few of her husband’s shows and films.
7 She Starred In A Few Episodes Of King Of Queens.....
As mentioned, Steffiana’s acting career began with a few small roles in various TV shows. After meeting Kevin, though, she played multiple roles in four episodes of the King of Queens TV series.
Her first role was 'masseuse' during season four. The episode was called “Eddie Money”. Then, she played Tina in season six, during the episode, “Damned Yanky”. She was Sue in season seven, for the episode, “Black List,” and played Sienna in the final season, during the episode, “Affair Trade.”
6 ....And Even Starred In Kevin Can Wait
While Kevin’s first TV series, King of Queens, lasted for nine seasons, his second series, Kevin Can Wait, only lasted for two. The show started off with Kevin playing a retired police officer and father of three. In season two, the show's creators wrote out his season one wife and replaced her with his The King of Queens wife, Leah Remini.
Leah wasn’t the only familiar face, though. His real-life wife, Steffiana de la Cruz, also starred in a few of the episodes, as Lil Meghan.
5 There Are Also Some Of Her Husband's Movies She Was Featured In
Now that Kevin is a father, he feels it's his duty as a role model to star only in positive, kid-friendly, PG movies and shows, such as Zookeeper, Paul Blart: MallCop and the sequel, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
His children have something else they can brag to their friends about, though. Not only did their father star in these movies, but their mom also got to star in them, although her parts weren’t as big as Kevin's.
4 Before Kevin, She Dated Chris Penn
Before Kevin and Steffiana met on a blind date back in 2001, she was in a six-year relationship with the late Chris Penn. Chris was also an actor, known for his roles in Footloose, Rush Hour, Beethoven’s 2nd, and for his voice role as Eddie Pulaski in the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Not much is known about their relationship, besides the fact that they were together between the years 1993 and 1999. Steffiana starred in a few of his movies. Chris sadly passed away in 2006, from heart disease.
3 She Has Four Children With Kevin
She may not look like someone who's given birth over and over, but Steffiana is actually the proud mother of four children. One year after saying their “I Do’s,” Kevin and Steffiana welcomed their first child, daughter Sienna-Marie James. She came into the world in September of 2005.
Two years later, they became parents of a second little girl, Shea Joelle James, in June of 2007. Their only son, Kannon Valentine James, was born in 2011. Their youngest daughter, Sistine Sabella James, was born in January of 2015.
2 She Lives A Private Life & Her Kids Are Her World
Trying to find out anything on Steffiana and her husband Kevin’s home life is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. These two love their privacy and live a very private life, away from the drama that is Hollywood.
Unlike other celebrities, Kevin and Steffiana are full-time parents who don’t rely on others to help raise their children. Their children are their world and they take them everywhere with them, even when Kevin has to travel for work.
1 Her Second Daughter Was Named After Shea Stadium
Anyone who knows Kevin knows that he is a big sports guy and even participated in a few different sports when he was younger, before suffering an injury in college that ended his athletic career.
Well, it seems that his love of baseball was the reason Kevin and his wife named their daughter, Shea Joelle James. Supposedly, Shea was actually named after Shea Stadium, the baseball park that was torn down and replaced with Citi Field.
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