Allegra Beck Versace, the “little princess” who controls the Versace empire, has become yet another fashionista to fall victim to the industry’s obsession with stick-thin figures.

The 20-year-old daughter of the designer Donatella Versace and the former Versace model Paul Beck has begun treatment in Los Angeles for anorexia, the eating disorder that causes young people, especially girls, to starve themselves.

“Our daughter, Allegra, has been battling anorexia, a very serious disease, for many years. She is receiving the best medical care possible to help overcome this illness and is responding well,” her parents said yesterday.

The revelation adds to the controversy over the use of waif-like girls after a global outcry over the deaths of two young Latin American models.

Madrid fashion shows have banned excessively skinny models and a code of conduct was introduced in Milan. London Fashion Week refused to place limits on a model’s body mass index.

“It’s very unfortunate and very sad that somebody as closely associated with the fashion industry has been affected in this way,” said Mary George, a spokeswoman for Beat, a British charity that focuses on eating disorders. “It’s indicative of the contribution that can be made towards eating disorders by the fashion industry and the media.”

Allegra’s gaunt appearance has provoked speculation for years that she was suffering from an eating disorder. One internet gossip wrote: “Does Donatella even look at her daughter? Maybe if she did, she’d realise her kid is going to die!”

Allegra was only 11 when her uncle, Gianni Versace, was shot dead on the steps of his Miami Beach home in 1997. The Italian press has reported that she stopped eating properly two months later.

Gianni Versace left 50 per cent of his fashion empire to his niece on her 18th birthday, with 30 per cent going to his older brother, Santo, and 20 per cent to his younger sister, Donatella.

Although she effectively controls the fashion house, Allegra, who was educated at a British school in Milan and spent nine years taking ballet classes, decided to move to America to try to become an actress.

She went to study at Brown University in Rhode Island, keeping out of the public eye. But she recently took time off to study acting, French and art history at the University of California in Los Angeles, where she attends classes five days a week and rides her bicycle on Venice Beach at the weekend.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” Allegra told Harper’s Bazaar in a rare interview for the March issue.

Versace’s clothes are not tailored for ultra-thin women but the company has taken no official position in the debate over size-zero models.

Yesterday, the fashion house said that it would take legal action after Donatella was quoted as saying that anorexia was “consuming” her daughter and that she had been admitted to hospital. The company said that Donatella never made any such remarks. “Allegra is not at present staying in any hospital. She is living in her private residence and her condition does not cause particular concerns,” the company said.

Times recommends

• What took place in 2010...
• Can you really cure a hangover?
• Video: How to do glamorous smoky eyes