'House of Gucci': All about sensational case of Patrizia Reggiani, Lady Gaga's character

With some of the established names in Hollywood, House of Gucci created an impact and became a talking point as the trailer released recently. In a film starring Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, among others, it is Lady Gaga who draws the focus in this biographical crime drama venture. The spotlight in on the singer-turned-actor, who portrays the role of Patrizia Reggiani.

Who is Patrizia Reggiani, the character played by Lady Gaga in House of Gucci?

One could see Lady Gaga displaying her swagger style in fashionable outfits while delivering Italian one-liners in the trailer of House of Gucci. Amid the glitz and the glamour, what stands out is a firing of the gun, the movie traces Patrizia Reggiani's orchestration of the assassination of her ex-husband and former head of Italian fashion giant Gucci, Maurizio Gucci.

Maurizio Gucci, who was the head of the fashion company founded by his grandfather, had married Patrizia in 1973. They had two daughters, Allegra and Alessandra.

However, their marriage broke down in 1985 after Gucci sent a message to his wife from a business trip that the marriage was over. They got officially divorced in 1991.

Four years later, on March 27, 1995, Gucci was shot dead by a hitman on the steps of his Milan office. His ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani was accused of plotting the murder, by hiring the shooter Benedetto Ceraulo, a debt-ridder pizzeria owner to carry out the killing, and was arrested on January 31, 1997.

The trial became a huge talking point, with terms like 'Black Widow' being used for Patrizia. She was found to have hired Ceraulo through an intermediary Giuseppina Auriemma and the prosecutors argued that the motive for her action, was to gain control of the Gucci estate, prevent his impending marriage to Paolo Franchi, which would have halved her alimony, apart from jealousy and resentment towards Gucci.

In 2000, an appeals court in Milan reduced her sentence to 26 years but upheld her conviction. The same year, she also unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by hanging herself with a shoelace, an attempt that was thwarted by the prison authorities. With credit for good behaviour, she eventually served 18 years in jail and was released in 2006.

House of Gucci

House of Gucci is directed by Ridley Scott and also stars Adam Driver in the role of Maurizio Gucci, while Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, and others completed the cast. The movie is based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. The movie is scheduled to release on November 24.