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Versace heiress battling anorexia is 'desperately ill'
By Nick Pisa, Evening Standard, in Rome Last updated at 16:51pm on 26.04.07
Very ill: Allegra Versace is in a special clinic
Worry: Donatella Versace
Donatella Versace today revealed for the first time that her daughter is being treated for anorexia.
Allegra Versace, 20, who inherited half of the £300 million fashion empire when she turned 18, is being treated by a team of specialists.
Donatella, 52, head of design at the fashion house, spoke out amid growing rumours that her daughter was desperately ill and struggling to survive the disease.
She said: "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.
"As parents, we are doing our best to protect our daughter. However, due to numerous media reports, we want to let everyone know that we appreciate their concern for Allegra, and we ask that her privacy be respected."
Her comments about Allegra, who has been studying fashion in New York since 2004, will increase calls for a worldwide ban on size-zero models.
Photographs of Allegra, in which she appears painfully thin, her face gaunt and her bone structure clearly visible, fuelled the rumours that Donatella confirmed today.
The internet is rife with reports of Allegra's illness with one site claiming she is "barely hanging on to life", while her weight has allegedly dropped to 5st.
Donatella refused to discuss what her daughter weighs but said she was speaking out in an attempt to end further internet speculation. Allegra's uncle Gianni was murdered by gunman Andrew Cunanan outside the Versace mansion, in Miami in 1997.
Gianni doted on his niece and left her half his business empire in his will. The rest of the company is split between his sister, Donatella, and brother, Santos.
Donatella, whose close friends include Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and the Beckhams, has had her own battles with illness. She admitted two years ago that she was a cocaine addict.
She is divorced from Allegra's father Paul Beck, an American model with whom she also has a teenage son, Daniel.
Reader views (2)
It seems that the Medusa (the Versace Logo) is representing what Freud has called the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration.
Oh, God what a sad picture, and what a painful sickness, I hope she gets well, please media let her recover in peace.
The best for them.
- Mariela Rubio F., Santiago, Chile
Even a £150 million empire cannot insulate one from the feelings that for a woman, only the way we look matters. What a tragedy for this family and for so many others.
- Kathleen H, Connecticut, USA
