Profile Text
von Fürstenberg in 2016, photo by kathclick /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Diane Simone Michele Halfin
Place of Birth: Brussels, Belgium
Date of Birth: 31 December, 1946
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish, Sephardi Jewish
Diane von Fürstenberg is a Belgian and American fashion designer. She is known for her wrap dress, and for her fashion company Diane von Furstenberg (DvF). She has been chairwoman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Diane was born in Brussels.
Her father, Leon (Lipa) Halfin, was a successful businessperson, born in Kishinev, currently Chișinău, Moldova. He went to school in Belgium, and then took refuge from the Nazis in Switzerland. Her mother, Lily/Liliane (Nahmias), was from Thessaloniki, Greece, fought in the resistance against the Nazis, and was a Holocaust survivor, who was a prisoner at Auschwitz. Both her parents were Jewish. According to her autobiography, The Woman I Wanted to Be , 2014, her mother was from a Sephardi family and spoke Ladino, Judaeo-Spanish, at home.
During her early years, she spent time in England, France, and Italy.
Diane is married to billionaire businessperson Barry Diller . She has two children, Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg and Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg, with her former husband, Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Prince Egon was the son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg, a German Roman Catholic prince, and Clara Agnelli, an heiress to the Fiat automotive fortune.
Diane’s paternal grandfather was named Samuel/Shmaya Halfin (the son of Hersh Halfin and Tsipora). Samuel was born in Chisinau, Chisinau, Moldova.
Diane’s paternal grandmother was named Sara Waisberg. Sara was born in Chisniau. She died c. 1942, during deportation to the Transnistria concentration camps, in the Holocaust.
Diane’s maternal grandfather was named Moshe Jacob Nahmias. Moshe was born in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Diane’s maternal grandmother was named Diamante Catan. Diamante was born in Thessaloniki.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2020) stated that Diane’s genetic ancestry is:
*86.1% European ——–*61.3% Ashkenazi Jewish ——–*8.1% Italian ——–*7% Broadly Southern European ——–*5.4% Broadly European ——–*4% Spanish and Portuguese ——–*0.3% Northwestern European *11.2% Western Asian & North African *0.2% East Asian *0.1% Sub-Saharan African
*86.1% European ——–*61.3% Ashkenazi Jewish ——–*8.1% Italian ——–*7% Broadly Southern European ——–*5.4% Broadly European ——–*4% Spanish and Portuguese ——–*0.3% Northwestern European *11.2% Western Asian & North African *0.2% East Asian *0.1% Sub-Saharan African
At the time the test was taken, many DNA tests did not detect specifically Sephardi Jewish ancestry.
Sources: http://www.tabletmag.com http://www.hyperink.com
Genealogy of Diane von Fürstenberg – https://www.geni.com