We all love the globally recognized brand Versace, don’t we? It’s been 28 years its the founder of Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside his Miami home by 27-year-old serial killer Andrew Cunanan on July 15, 1997. Cunanan was also found dead eight days later with a self-inflicted gunshot in a nearby boathouse. His death was declared a suicide.
Reportedly, Andrew Cunanan had killed four people prior he coming after Gianni Versace. He allegedly had an obsession with celebrities, and the fashion brand wasn’t the only one. According to a former friend, Cunanan was fixated on actor Tom Cruise and even used him as a standard to judge other men.
As per Radaronline,
the source said
, “Andrew was obsessed with Tom. He said no guy was as attractive as ‘his Tom,’” said Michael O’Brien, a friend who knew Cunanan before the killing spree. Cunanan didn’t just admire Cruise—he fantasized about being with him. He would dress like Cruise’s movie characters, especially wearing a bomber jacket like the one in Top Gun, one of Cruise’s most popular movies.
Andrew Cunanan was so obsessed with the Hollywood heartthrob that he would drive around his house in a rented BMW with hopes of bumping into him. O’Brien also added that Cunanan was so mindlessly fixated on
Tom Cruise
that he felt they would really end up together.
Although Cruise and Cunanan never met, another Hollywood star did have a run-in with the killer — Friends actress
Lisa Kudrow
. Everyone’s favorite, Phoebe Buffay from the sitcom, known for her free-spirited personality, was not fond of him.
A source close to Kudrow said she felt deeply uncomfortable after Cunanan cornered her at a dinner party weeks before the murder of Gianni Versace. “He really gave me the creeps,” Kudrow reportedly told her friend. “He wouldn’t leave me alone, and I had to fake going to the bathroom just to get away.”
Another party guest, writer and director Tom Haynes, also confirmed that Andrew Cunanan was smitten entirely and obsessed with Kudrow and looked angry when she walked away. Cunanan had attended the party with his boyfriend, David Madson, who later became one of his victims. A photo taken at the party of Cunanan and Kudrow was reportedly missing when cops later found Madson’s body.
“I’m a little like Marco Polo, going around and mixing cultures” Gianni Versace once said.
The Italian designer was a fashion icon, a true ambassador of our Made-in-Italy.
This week, 28 years after his death on July 15, 1997, let’s remember the icon, the entrepreneur, the artist!
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— Italy in US (@ItalyinUS)
July 14, 2025
Andrew Cunanan was a disturbed man who had a series of victims he killed before shooting himself using the same gun he stole from his first victim, Jeff Trail. While Cunanan identified as a homosexual in his personal life, Gianni Versace was openly gay and lived with his long-term partner Antonio D’Amico.
On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was shot and killed outside of his residence in Miami, Florida
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— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow)
July 15, 2025
At the time of Versace’s death, tabloid reports said that the designer’s 25-year career was at a peak. His designs incorporated a hint of classical motifs with a blend of contemporary and sexy appeal. His shows in Milan saw a fleet of supermodels walking his creations alongside flashing paparazzi running to cover him. After his death, his sister took over as
head designer for the Versace label.
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The fashion mogul is known for turning the fashion world into the high-powered, celebrity-besotted industry it remains to the present day. The more we say about Versace, the less it will be. All we can say is that while having a crush on someone or liking a person is one thing, delusional obsession can often lead to fatal consequences.
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Sadly, such an esteemed designer lost his life at such a young age due to someone else’s weird fetishes. Nevertheless, Gianni Versace’s legacy will shine on forever as we cherish his timeless creations even after decades.
