Allegra Versace Beck (; born 30 June 1986), commonly known as Allegra Versace, is an Italian-American heiress and

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

. Since 2011, Allegra has been a director of Gianni Versace S.p.A. and has worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as a theatrical dresser.

Early life and education

Allegra Versace is the daughter of Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace and American ex- fashion model Paul Beck, and the niece of fashion designer

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

. She was raised outside

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, with her younger brother Daniel. Sir Elton John gave her a piano that she admits she never learned to play. As a child, she took ballet classes for nine years and is to this day a huge admirer of ballet. She credits her uncle Gianni as having instilled in her this lifelong passion for ballet. For one of her birthdays, he introduced her to

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...

. Versace attended The British School of Milan, then known as "The Sir James Henderson School", where she was tightly guarded. Following the completion of

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

, she went abroad, first to

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, then in 2006, she enrolled at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, where she studied French,

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Inheritance of Versace

Allegra Versace was eleven years old when her uncle

was fatally shot outside his Miami mansion in July 1997. Her mother immediately sought counseling for her. On her 18th birthday, she received 50% ownership of Gianni Versace S.p.A. Allegra's uncle Santo Versace already owned 30% of the fashion empire, and her mother already owned 20%, but due to a long-standing disagreement between the two, the remaining 50% of the Versace empire was bequeathed by Gianni to Allegra. Allegra instantly became worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite legally being able to claim full control of her inheritance at the age of 18, she opted to focus entirely on her studies and did not begin real participation in the business of Versace until she was 24.

Personal life

She has struggled with

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Versace, Allegra 1986 births Brown University alumni Fashion designers from Milan Italian women fashion designers Italian fashion designers Italian people of American descent Italian socialites 21st-century Italian businesswomen 21st-century Italian businesspeople Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Versace family