American philanthropist (born 1949)
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (born December 28, 1949) is a Swiss-born American philanthropist known for raising public awareness of Alzheimer's disease.
She is the second child of American movie actress and dancer Rita Hayworth, and the third child of Prince Aly Khan, Pakistan's representative to the United Nations from February 1958 until his death in 1960. Her paternal half-brother is Prince Karim al-Husayni, the fourth and current Aga Khan.
Early life
Khan was born at Clinique de Montchoisi in Lausanne, Switzerland;[1] she spent her early life with her mother and her maternal half-sister, Rebecca Welles Manning (1944–2004), daughter of Hayworth's marriage to Orson Welles.[2] Her half-brothers are His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV and Prince Amyn Aga Khan.[3] In January 1953, her parents' divorce was granted on the grounds of extreme mental cruelty. Yasmin, then only three years old, played about the court while the case was being heard, finally climbing on to the judge's lap.[4]
She attended Buxton School,[5] a small boarding school in Williamstown, Massachusetts,[6] and the International School of Geneva. In 1973, she graduated from Bennington College[7][5] in the United States and was originally interested in opera singing.[6]
Philanthropic activities
Influenced by the death of her mother, for whom she cared for many years, from Alzheimer's disease, Yasmin Aga Khan serves on the board of directors, as vice chairman, of Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Association.[7] She is also the president of Alzheimer's Disease International, a National Council Member of the Salk Institute, and a spokesperson for the Boston University School of Medicine, Board of Visitors. She also serves on numerous boards of the Aga Khan Foundation. The 2009 documentary I Remember Better When I Paint features a stirring interview with Yasmin Aga Khan describing how her mother took up painting while struggling with Alzheimer's and produced beautiful works of art.[8]
Personal life
She married her first husband, Greek economist and shipping heir Basil Embiricos, in 1985.[5] The couple had a son, Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos (1986–2011). The Princess and Embiricos were divorced in 1987.
Her son Andrew died in his Chelsea, Manhattan, apartment on December 4, 2011. He was 25.[9][10]
She married her second husband, Christopher Michael Jeffries, in 1989.[11] They divorced in 1993.[12]
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