Childhood: He had a sister Donatella and a brother Santo. At the time of his birth his family's poverty reflected the post-war poverty of the south of Italy, Calabria, where they lived. However, the family's fortunes improved with the economic advance of Italy. His father sold electrical appliances and his mother ran a successful dressmaking shop. As a young boy, he learned to design and make his own clothes. Several of his designs were sold at the family store.

Work: In 1972 Versace moved to Milan where he worked in several fashion houses , founded his own fashion house and his family took part in running the business. Versace developed the use of super-models and the use of celebrities to show off his designs. He was open about his homosexuality and came out in the US press. Versace liked using stunning male models in his advertising often featuring homoerotic images. His coffee-table book Men Without Ties looked back over his male fashion and celebrated male beauty. He was the costume designer for the films Showgirls, (1995), Judge Dredd, (1995), Kika, (1993), and Cin cin, (1991). He was associated with several AIDS charities, particularly those involving celebrities such as Elton John.

Friend & Relationships: As a world-famous designer he knew everyone, the photographers Bruce Weber and Richard Avedon, the designers Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Paul Gaultier, his celebrity fans Sly Stallone and Bruce Springsteen, and notably Elton John and Diana, Princess of Wales both famously in tears at his funeral after his murder in July 1997. Versace had been shot dead on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by a deranged young man, Andrew Cunanan, who was already being hunted by the police for a series of murders. Cunanan committed suicide using the same hand gun that had been used to murder of Gianni Versace. The motive for the murder remained a mystery. After Gianni Versace's death the business was taken over by his sister, Donatella. Versace had a boyfriend of 14 years, Antonio D'Amico. He was supported by Elton John who flew from Los Angeles to attend his first solo fashion show in Milan.

Greatest Achievement: His over-the-top classically inspired style which greatly influenced fashion as well as all aspects of interior design.

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