Princess Virginia von Fürstenberg (''Virginia Carolina Theresa Pancrazia Galdina Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg''; born 18 April 1940), known professionally as Ira von Fürstenberg, is an Italian

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) 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 traditio ...

, actress, jewelry designer and former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani. She is a member by birth of the princely family of Fürstenberg and a former member by marriage of the princely family of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Background

The daughter of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and his first wife, Clara Agnelli, she was born in Rome, Italy. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Karl Emil von Fürstenberg (1867–1945) and the Hungarian Countess Mária Matild Georgina Festetics von Tolna (24 May 1881– 2 March 1953), who was the daughter of Prince

Tassilo Festetics von Tolna Tassilo – also spelled Thassilo – is a male name of West Germanic origin. It is the diminutive form of the name Tasso/Tazzo. Tasso/Tazzo itself is the diminutive form of Taginbert, which is of West Germanic origin and means "glittering as the da ...

and

Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, also known as Mary Victoria Hamilton (11 December 185014 May 1922), was a Scottish noblewoman who was the great-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Prince Karl Johannes von Schwarzenberg and Princes ...

. Her maternal great-grandmother was an American heiress, Jane

Bourbon del Monte Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

, Princess di San Faustino ( Campbell). The elder of her two brothers was Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, a fashion designer. She also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. Her former sister-in-law is the fashion designer

Diane von Fürstenberg Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin, 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as ...

, and an uncle was Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

. She is a first cousin of Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. She speaks several languages, including Italian,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, German, Spanish and English. She is the patron of a number of charities, including the

Children of Africa Foundation A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

set up by Dominique Ouattara.

Personal Life

Her first husband, whom she married at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy, on 17 September 1955, was Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1924–2003), who founded the Marbella Club, a Spanish resort. At the time of the wedding, the bride was 15 and the groom was 31. They were divorced in 1960, and the marriage was annulled in 1969. They had two children: * Christoph Victorio Egon Humberto (known as "Kiko"; 8 November 1956 – 5 August 2006), who died of massive organ failure a few days after being imprisoned in Klongprem Central Prison in Bangkok on charges of suspicion of illegally altering a visa. His health had been weakened from a weight-loss regimen at a Thai wellness center. * Hubertus Rudolph (known as "Hubi"; born 2 February 1959), a musician and photographer who was on Mexico's Olympic skiing team in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2010 and 2014. Married to Simona Gandolfi on 17 June 2019 in Vaduz. Her second husband was Francisco "Baby" Pignatari (1916–1977), a Brazilian industrialist. They married in Reno, Nevada, on 12 January 1961. They divorced in Las Vegas in January 1964 and had no children.

Film career

Ira von Fürstenberg was a star of European-made B-movies in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Her film appearances included the spy spoof '' Matchless'' (1968, co-starring Patrick O'Neal), '' I Killed Rasputin'' (1967), '' Dead Run'' (1967, co-starring Peter Lawford), '' My Bed Is Not for Sleeping'' (1968), '' The Vatican Affair'' (1968), ''

The Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast ...

'' (1969), '' Five Dolls for an August Moon'' (1970), '' No desearás al vecino del quinto'' (1970) and '' The Fifth Cord'' (1971).

Notable published works

* ''Young at Any Age: Thirty Three of the World's Most Elegant Women Reveal How They Stay Beautiful'' (1981) * ''Tartanware: Souvenirs from Scotland'' (1996) * ''Princesse et Rebelle'' (2002)

References

External links