The Tragic Details Of Donatella Versace

Donatella Versace is an icon in the fashion world and beyond. With her signature blond hair, tiny frame, and super high heels, she is the epitome of personal style and feminine power. The designer was born and raised in Italy, where she learned about fashion from her mother, a dressmaker. When she was 11 years old, she became the muse of her older brother, Gianni Versace, who would one day make a huge and lasting impression in the fashion industry. When her beloved brother died, it was up to Donatella to carry on the Versace label, and she did so with a keen eye and an admirable work ethic.

But Donatella Versace's success came at a price. The loss of her brother devastated her completely, but then again, she was born into a family that had already experienced great loss. She was forced time and again to cope with tragedy while running a wildly successful business and not buckling under the pressure. Between heartbreaking loss, struggles with substances, and the ever-present need to defend her family, Donatella Versace has not had it easy. But she has never given up, and to this day, she remains one of the most powerful and influential figures in fashion, inspiring trends that will likely still be around 20 years from now. Read on to learn more about the tragic details of Donatella Versace's life.

Donatella Versace grew up in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and was the youngest of her siblings. She was close with her brothers, Gianni and Santo, but her sister, Tina, passed away before Donatella was born. She was frank when speaking to The New Yorker about the tragic loss, explaining, "Sudden death is frequent in my family." Tina's story is a heartbreaking one in and of itself. She died after a doctor prescribed the wrong medication to treat a tetanus infection she'd contracted just one day earlier.

Although Donatella was born three years after Tina's death, she could still feel the weight of the loss within her family, which caused her some insecurity. "I felt when I was little, 'Oh, I'm going to have to fill someone else's place,'" Donatella shared with Harper's Bazaar (via Refinery29). "This was why I was born as a baby, because my parents couldn't get over the loss of my sister, who I never met," she said.

In 1983, Donatella Versace and American model Paul Beck tied the knot and expanded their family several years later, welcoming their daughter, Allegra, in 1986 and their son, Daniel, in 1989. But it seems as though Donatella and Paul's marriage was not exactly the stuff of fairy tales. Many believed Gianni Versace orchestrated his sister's marriage to ensure there would be children to carry on his legacy.

The other, more scandalous, belief about Donatella's husband was that it was Gianni who really had romantic feelings for him. Of course, Donatella has never confirmed any such thing, and likely never will, as she is fiercely protective of her family and her private life. She and Beck divorced in 2000, and when Ssense asked about him in a 2018 interview, Donatella answered tersely, "Paul lives in New York. I have a good relationship with him because he is the father of my children. Anyone else you want to know about?"

Donatella Versace was very close to her brother Gianni Versace, and he leaned on her a lot when he became ill in the '90s. Although there have been rumors, perpetuated in part by the 2018 TV series "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," that Gianni was diagnosed with HIV, his family has always maintained that he had ear cancer. "The last two years of his life, Gianni was hiding, hiding up in his apartment in Via Gesú, because his ear was so big," Donatella revealed to New York Magazine.

Gianni's illness not only took a personal toll on Donatella, but concerns about what would happen to the Versace business weighed heavily on the family's minds. Donatella had largely taken the reigns at that point, but she consulted regularly with her brother. "I visited him several times a day to get his opinion," she told Ssense. "When I finally got home late at night, he would often call me three or four times to discuss business," It dawned on Donatella that her brother was preparing her to take his place, trying to discern whether she would be able to handle taking over the Versace label by herself.

According to Donatella, the real tragedy of Gianni's illness was the timing of events. She recalled to The New Yorker that Gianni was told he was cured, and the family celebrated the good news. A mere six months later, however, they were mourning his death, as he'd become the victim of a spree killer.

On July 15, 1997, spree killer Andrew Cunanan murdered Gianni Versace at his home in Miami, Florida. Donatella Versace was in shock and overcome with grief. She recalled the day it happened tp Ssense, revealing, "I was in Rome with my two children preparing a fashion show on the Spanish Steps. Suddenly my brother Santo shouted, 'Stop right away! Gianni had an accident!'" She continued, saying, "When I reached the doctor in charge, I asked how my brother was doing. The voice on the phone said, 'I'm very sorry, your brother died three minutes ago.' The world stood still."

Donatella's first thought was protecting her children — who were watching TV at the time — from the news, but she was too late. "I saw that they had suffered a shock. The cartoon had been interrupted because of a special broadcast, and they had seen their uncle lying in his blood," she said. The event was a defining moment for Donatella and her young children, who were extremely close to their uncle. "Every life contains an event that redefines one's outlook. ... My brother's murder was that event for my children and me," she explained.

Despite her pain, Donatella had no choice but to go on. She was suddenly faced with having to step into Gianni's role as the head of Versace. The prospect was daunting, even for a powerhouse like Donatella. "All these people depending on me, their jobs on my shoulders, to live up to Gianni's dream," she told New York Magazine. "I'm going to f**k up everything Gianni did?"

Another aspect of her brother's death that Donatella Versace had to contend with was the matter of his will. Gianni Versace, in a seemingly strange turn of events, left the bulk of the Versace company to Donatella's then 11-year-old daughter, Allegra. Santo Versace received a 30% share, and Donatella only received 20% of the empire she helped build. However, according to Donatella, she was aware of her brother's plans because she went with him to have the will notarized. She understood what Gianni was trying to do, and it was actually a move that would ensure Donatella would step into his shoes.

"By giving half of Versace to my daughter, he forced me to take responsibility for the company until she came of age," she told Ssense. And clearly, Gianni's plan worked. "Without this trick in the will, I might have left the company after his death," Donatella admitted. But the weight of having been left such a large portion of a thriving international fashion brand was a lot for Donatella's daughter to handle. "Gianni idolized my daughter and always called her 'my little princess,' but he put a tremendous burden on her with his will," the designer explained. "Making headlines at the age of 11—I wouldn't wish that on any child."

The grief of losing her brother, paired with the pressure to follow in his footsteps as head of Versace, contributed to Donatella Versace's substance use disorder. "For the first five years, I was lost," she told The Guardian. "I made a lot of mistakes." The designer struggled with cocaine abuse for 18 years before she finally entered rehab. "Any addiction I have had, when I have ended it, I have done it just like that," she said, but kicking her nearly two-decade-long habit wasn't as easy as she made it sound.

It took an intervention from her friend Elton John to get Donatella to agree to go to a rehab facility. Addiction-related tragic details about Elton John's life likely made it easy for him to sympathize with Donatella. "Nobody thought I would accept Elton's offer, but a few minutes later I traded my evening gown and diamonds for a jogging suit," she told Ssense. "I made my way to the airport with a ponytail and no makeup." Donatella attended a clinic in Arizona and was successful in completing her program. But becoming sober came with a different kind of stress. "What was worse than withdrawal was the shock of reality after I was released. The drugs had blinded me to how bad things had gotten around the company," Donatella shared.

As far as lessons learned, Donatella had some advice for her younger self: "Be strong, and stay true to yourself. ... But most of all, follow your own instincts, and don't try to be Gianni," she revealed in The Guardian.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In 2007, Donatella Versace faced another difficult issue concerning a family member. In a statement released by Donatella and her ex-husband, Paul Beck, it was revealed that Allegra, then a student at Brown University, had been diagnosed with an eating disorder. "Our daughter, Allegra has been battling anorexia, a very serious disease, for many years. ... She is receiving the best medical care possible to help overcome this illness and is responding well," the statement read in part (via Reuters).

Versace felt the need to go on record about her daughter's health after media outlets were spreading misinformation. The designer took particular issue with a publication that misquoted her as saying anorexia was "consuming" her daughter and that Allegra was being treated in a hospital. "[Allegra] is living in her private residence and her condition does not cause particular concerns," read a statement released by the Versace company (via Reuters).

Although Allegra was not a model, many speculated that having grown up as the daughter of a fashion maven may have had a negative influence on her. The media attention occurred at a time when the fashion industry was being taken to task for favoring models who appeared to be underweight and unhealthy. In Donatella's native Italy, a ban was put in place to disallow overly thin models from strutting the catwalk unless they could provide proof that they were healthy. 

Donatella Versace is known for being fiercely protective of her family, especially when it comes to her late brother, Gianni Versace. So, when she learned that fellow designer Giorgio Armani had made some remarks about Gianni in 2015, Donatella did not hold back. The comments in question appeared in The Sunday Times, as Armani recalled a conversation he'd once had with Gianni. "We were in Rome and we met in the Piazza di Spagna for a fashion event. He was looking at the models and he said to me, 'I dress sluts. You dress church ladies'" (via The Independent).

This rubbed Donatella the wrong way, and she responded with a statement criticizing Armani for his remarks: "I find it extremely rude and tasteless that Mr. Armani has once again put words in to my brother's mouth, especially because he is sadly no longer with us to reply." Clearly offended and demanding respect for her late brother, she continued, saying, "When my brother spoke about fashion the only word that ever came from his mouth was glamour. What should be said about my brother is: may Gianni Versace rest in peace."

Given how deeply Donatella Versace was affected by her brother's murder, it comes as no surprise that she took issue with the 2018 FX series that dramatized the event, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story." Created by Ryan Murphy, this iteration of "American Crime Story" starred Penelope Cruz as Donatella and was exploitative, according to the designer. "I still get as angry as I did on the first day when people want to make money with lies about Gianni," she told Ssense. "My lawyers tried to file a lawsuit against this television series, but they lost because my brother is a person of contemporary history and therefore has limited personal rights."

The Versace family released a statement making it clear that they had no part in the making of the series and did not condone its release. "The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace," the statement read in part. The creators of the show, including Murphy and Cruz, responded with their own statement, referring to the show as "a work of fiction" (via Harper's Bazaar).

Before the FX series debuted, Lifetime released the 2013 film "House of Versace" starring Gina Gershon as Donatella. The designer was also not a fan of this film, reacting with disgust when it was mentioned during an interview with Ssense. "The film is supposedly an absolute botch job, completely lousy. I refuse to watch it, which is why I can't tell you anything about it," she said.

Donatella Versace has long been known for signature look: long, straight blond locks parted down the middle, a deep tan, high heels, and lots of black eyeliner. According to the designer, her appearance served as something like armor while she was dealing with the aftermath of her brother's death. "My hair got blonder and blonder, my makeup thicker and thicker," she told Ssense. "I felt like the whole world was looking at me with daggers in their eyes and I created a mask that would give me protection." But it wasn't just Versace's hair or makeup that caught the eye of the public. Over the years, many have speculated about what kinds of cosmetic procedures she might have had, unfavorably comparing her appearance to that of Janice from "The Muppets."

In December 2024, the designer debuted a new, softer look at the premiere of "The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical," garnering positive comments from fans. Days later, when fans realized the pics she posted to her Instagram didn't look like the professional images from the event. "It was just a good filter & some editing," The Cosmetic Lane mused on X, formerly Twitter. As a result, Donatella once again found herself on the receiving end of criticism.

It goes to show that a woman in a powerful position is always going to be scrutinized, but Donatella Versace seems to know that better than anyone. She was once quoted as saying, "It's no good being too easily swayed by people's opinions. You have to believe in yourself."