Enzo Ferrari’s wife was Laura Domenica Garello Ferrari, the woman he married in 1923 and stayed legally married to until her death in 1978. She is far less famous than her husband, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari car marque — but people who knew the company say she was a force inside it, not a background figure.
Her story also explains one of the most unusual family arrangements in automotive history: while still married to Laura, Enzo had a long relationship with Lina Lardi, whose son Piero could only be legally recognised as Enzo’s son after Laura’s death.
Table of Contents
- Who Was Enzo Ferrari’s Wife?
- Laura Garello’s Early Life
- Marriage to Enzo Ferrari
- Family: Dino and Piero
- Laura’s Role at Ferrari
- Later Years and Death
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Was Enzo Ferrari’s Wife?
Laura Domenica Garello was born on September 10, 1900, in Racconigi, in Piedmont, Italy, the only daughter of Andrea Garello and Delfina Porchietto. Accounts differ on her early work — some describe her as a dancer, others as a seamstress in Turin — but they agree on the meeting that changed her life: she met Enzo Ferrari in Turin in the early 1920s, near the Porta Nuova station, when he was still a young test driver, not yet a legend.
Laura Garello’s Early Life
Little is reliably documented about Laura’s schooling or family beyond her parents. In 2015 her home town honoured her by naming a street section “Via Laura Garello Ferrari” — a rare public recognition for a woman long described, in the words of one motorsport magazine profile, as “increasingly lonely, but holding a dignified presence until the end.”
Marriage to Enzo Ferrari
Laura and Enzo married on April 28, 1923. The marriage lasted 55 years, through the founding of Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, the launch of the first Ferrari-badged car in 1947, racing triumphs, and repeated tragedy. By many accounts it was a difficult, tempestuous partnership — Enzo himself admitted after her death that “now she’s not here any more, I don’t have a point of reference.”
Family: Dino and Piero
Laura and Enzo had one son together, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, born in 1932. Dino trained to succeed his father in the business, but he died in 1956 at just 24, from muscular dystrophy — a loss that devastated both parents and reshaped Enzo’s life. The Dino brand of cars was later named in his memory.
Enzo also had a son with his long-term partner Lina Lardi: Piero Lardi Ferrari, born in 1945. Because divorce was not legal in Italy until 1975, and because Enzo remained married to Laura, Piero was not legally recognised as Enzo’s son until after Laura’s death in 1978. Piero later became vice chairman of Ferrari.
Laura’s Role at Ferrari
Laura was more than a wife at home. She was a constant presence around the company, took a close interest in its finances and personnel, and was at the centre of the famous “Great Walkout” of 1961, when several top engineers left Ferrari — a dispute in which Enzo ultimately sided with his wife over his own engineering team. Historians disagree on whether she helped or hindered the company, but none describe her as irrelevant to it.
Later Years and Death
Laura died on February 27, 1978, in Modena, Italy, at the age of 77. Enzo survived her by a decade, dying on August 14, 1988, at 90. She was buried in Modena, and her long marriage — stormy, loyal and legally unbroken — remains the frame within which the Ferrari family story has to be understood.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Enzo Ferrari’s wife?
Laura Domenica Garello Ferrari, born in 1900 in Racconigi, Italy. She married Enzo on April 28, 1923, and remained his wife until her death in 1978.
Did Enzo Ferrari have children with his wife?
Yes — one son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, born in 1932, who died in 1956 aged 24.
Who was Lina Lardi?
Lina Lardi was Enzo Ferrari’s long-term partner and the mother of his second son, Piero. She was never his legal wife; Laura was.
Was Laura Garello portrayed in the Ferrari film?
Yes — Penélope Cruz played Laura in Michael Mann’s 2023 film Ferrari, which brought her story to a much wider audience.
