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Ira von Fürstenberg

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Princess Ira
Princess of Fürstenberg
SpousePrince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (m.1955-1969)
Francisco Pignatari (m.1961-1964)
IssuePrince Christoph of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
FatherPrince Tassilo of Fürstenberg
MotherClara Agnelli

Princess Virginia (Ira) of Fürstenberg (German: Ira Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg) (born 18 April 1940) is a European socialite, actress, jewelry designer, and a former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani.

Background

The daughter of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and his first wife, Clara Agnelli, a Fiat heiress, she was born as Her Serene Highness Princess Virginia Carolina Theresa Pancrazia Galdina of Fürstenberg in Rome, Italy.

Her maternal great-grandmother was an American heiress, Jane Campbell (Princess di San Faustino, by marriage), and the elder of her two brothers was the fashion designer Egon von Fürstenberg. Her former sister-in-law is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg, and an uncle was Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of Fiat. She also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian.

Princess Ira was reportedly an occasional companion and potential consort of Prince Rainier III of Monaco after the death of his wife, the former Grace Kelly, but premature speculation in the press by her son about the marriage apparently dissuaded the prince from making a proposal.[citation needed] Like the late ruler of Monaco, her second cousin, she is a great-grandchild of the Scottish aristocrat Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, the first wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, though Ira is descended from Lady Mary's second marriage with the Hungarian prince, Tassilo Festetics von Tolna.

First marriage

Fürstenberg's first husband, whom she married at Venice, Italy, on 17 September 1955, was Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1924–2003), who founded the Marbella Club, the Spanish resort. At the time of the wedding, the bride was 15, the groom, 31. They were divorced in 1960, and the marriage was annulled in 1969. They had two children:

  • Christoph Victorio Egon Humberto (a.k.a. Kiko, 8 November 1956 — 5 August 2006), 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.[1][2][3]
  • Hubertus (born 31 May 1959) is a musician and photographer who was on Mexico's Olympic skiing team in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, and 2010.[4]

Second marriage

Fürstenberg's 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. They had no children.

Film career

Known for her plush silhouette, sloe eyes, and gift for light comedy, Ira von Fürstenberg (she and her brother Egon changed the zu to von for use in their public lives, although the former predicate historically implied a noble family's retention of ancestral estates, whereas von only suggests family origin) was a sumptuous star of European-made B-movies in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Her film appearances included the spy spoof Matchless (1966, co-starring Patrick O'Neal), J'ai tué Raspoutine (1967), Dead Run (1967, co-starring Peter Lawford), The Vatican Affair (1968), Dolls for an August Moon (1970) and The Fifth Cord (1971).

Ancestry

Family of Ira von Fürstenberg
16. Carl Egon II of Fürstenberg
8. Maximilian Egon I of Fürstenberg
17. Princess Amalie of Baden
4. Prince Carl Emil of Fürstenberg
18. Richard, Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch
9. Countess Leontine of Khevenhüller-Metsch
19. Countess Antonia Lichnowsky
2. Prince Tassilo of Fürstenberg
20. Count György László Festetics von Tolna
10. Count Tassilo Festetics von Tolna
21. Countess Eugénie Erdödy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló
5. Countess Maria Festetics von Tolna
22. William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton
11. Mary Victoria Hamilton
23. Princess Marie of Baden
1. Ira von Fürstenberg
24. Edoardo Agnelli
12. Giovanni Agnelli
25. Aniceta Frisetti
6. Edoardo Agnelli
26. Unknown
13. Clara Boselli
27. Unknown
3. Clara Jeanne Agnelli
28. Don Ranieri Bourbon del Monte, Prince of San Faustino
14. Carlo Bourbon del Monte, Prince of San Faustino
29. Donna Maria Francesca Massimo, dei Principi di Arsoli
7. Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte
30. George W. Campbell
15. Jane Allen Campbell
31. Virginia Watson

See also

References

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