Career
During the 1980s while she was married to Maurizio Gucci, she was a wealthy Italian socialite and high fashion personality. In late 1998 she went through a scandalous trial followed closely by the Italian public for ordering her husband"s murder. On May 2, 1985, after 12 years of marriage, Maurizio left Patrizia for a younger woman, telling her he was going on a short business trip.
He never returned home.
In 1991, Patrizia and Maurizio Gucci officially divorced. As part of the settlement, Patrizia Reggiani collected the equivalent of $500,000 annual alimony.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was removed without any negative consequences. The trial garnered intense media interest and is where Reggiani became known as the "Black Widow".
Her daughters asked that her conviction be overturned, claiming her brain tumor had affected her personality.
In 2000, an appeals court in Milan upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence to 26 years. That same year, Reggiani tried to commit suicide by hanging herself with a shoelace, but was rescued. In October 2011, she was offered a chance at parole, but refused saying "I"ve never worked in my life and I"m certainly not going to start now".