Italian actress and aristocrat Princess Virginia von Fürstenberg, better known by her professional name Ira von Fürstenberg passed away at the age of 83 in February 2024. The European beauty had a varied career and colourful personal life that even fortuitously led to a marriage to a Spanish-German prince. Often referred to as an early ‘It girl’, she socialised with Hollywood legends, fashion icons and modelled for some of the most well-known brands.

Born Virginia Carolina Theresa Pancrazia Galdina Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg in 1940, she was a member of the German noble family the House of Fürstenberg. She embarked on an early modelling career and was captured by notable photographers including Sir Cecil Beaton and modelled designs by Emilio Pucci.

In 1955, she married Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. His family was descended from the princes of Württemberg in Germany who held their titles until Napoleon's invasion in the 19th century. At the time, she was just 15 years old, whereas her husband was 31, 16 years her senior. During their honeymoon in New York, she was asked to pose nude by Salvador Dalí – a proposal which her husband swiftly rejected – and danced with Frank Sinatra. Together, the couple had two children Prince Christoph and Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. The couple settled and lived in Mexico City before announcing their divorce in 1960. The following year, she married Brazilian industrialist Francisco Pignatari. Like her first marriage, it was short-lived and the couple split in 1964.