Donatella Versace Reflects on Late Brother Gianni's "Creative Genius" in Birthday Message

Donatella Versace is honoring her late brother on his birthday.

The fashion mogul penned a moving message to Gianni Versace on what would have been his 76th birthday on Dec. 2. Alongside photos of the two as kids and at a 1993 Versace show, Donatella wrote on Instagram, "Simple words cannot express Gianni's creative genius."

"On his birthday, today and every year, I celebrate how his talent sent ripples into the world of fashion and beyond," she continued. "Gianni, I love and miss you so much. Happy Birthday xxx." Her post included two snaps of the two with one featuring the Italian designers as children.

Donatella's tribute was met with tons of love, with Lindsay Lohan, Emily Ratajkowski, and Nolan Funk among sharing red heart emojis in the comments.

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Cindy Crawford also chimed in, writing, "Love you both!" while Paris Hilton commented, "Legends."

Gianni, who founded the luxury fashion brand in the late ‘70s, was assassinated in 1997 outside of his Miami Beach home by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. He was 50 years old.

In July 2021, Donatella marked the 25th anniversary of his death with an emotional Instagram post dedicated to her brother. "Every day, I wish you were still here."

Two decades after Gianni's murder, Donatella reflected on assuming control Versace explaining the pressure of keeping the fashion brand going amid such a devastating loss.

"When my brother was murdered, I had the eyes of the whole world on me and 99 percent of them thought I wasn't going to make it," she told The Guardian in 2017. "And maybe I thought the same, at first. My brother was the king, and my whole world had crashed around me."