Versace's Daughter Has Anorexia

Donatella Versace's 20 year old daughter, Allegra, is undergoing treatment for anorexia, according to the designer.

Allegra Beck Versace, 20, is the heiress to the Versace fashion firm. Her mother released the statement on Wednesday because of rumors about her daughter's health.

"Our daughter, Allegra, has been battling anorexia, a very serious disease, for many years," Versace and Paul Beck said in a statement released by their spokesman, Robert Zimmerman.

"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 at this time.''

The spokesman for the Italian fashion firm said that Allegra was living at home in the United States where she is a student of fashion in New York, and is not in a hospital, as some rumors were suggesting.

Donatella Versace, 51, had first confirmed the news of her daughter's anorexia to the syndicated entertainment show "The Insider" on Tuesday after recent media and internet speculation about her daughter's skinny appearance.

Allegra Beck Versace owns 50 percent of the 300 million pound Versace fashion empire. She inherited her share on her eighteenth birthday from her uncle Gianni Versace. Gianni Versace founded the company and was murdered in Miami in 1997. The rest of the fashion empire is split between Donatella and Gianni's brother Santos.

Gianni Versace called Allegra his little princess and she was only 11 years old when the famed fashion designer was gunned down outside his Miami Beach estate by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

The Versace family has had several problems the past few years. Two years ago, Donatella Versace went into rehab for cocaine addiction.

Donatella counts Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and the Beckhams among her best friends and inherited control of Versace when Gianni was murdered.

Reports in Italy said that Allegra was receiving treatment in a clinic after a severe weight drop.

Donatella Versace, the siter of Gianni Versace, and Paul Beck are legally separated, according to Zimmerman.

The news of Allegra Versace's illness comes just days after Olivia Newton-John revealed that her daughter Chloe, 21, is also battling anorexia. The condition was sparked in Chloe 18 months ago when her mother's boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, disappeared during a fishing trip never to return.

Sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032800399.html
http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/196844
http://people.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1283931.php/Donatella_Versaces_anorexic_daughter
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=445088&in_page_id=1879