Fabiola Beracasa was born Maria Fabiola Beracasa in Caracas, Venezuela to the former Veronica de Gruyter and leather goods magnate and banking heir Alfredo Beracasa.

Fabiola Beracasa
Chanel, October 16, 2006
Photograph © Style.com

Her mother Veronica Hearst was born in Monte Carlo as the daughter of Princess Fatemah Khanoum and the Dutch aristocrat Wilhelmus de Gruyter. She is fluent in six languages and was raised primarily in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her first marriage was to Fabiola’s father Alfredo, the son of Alegria Beracasa, a philanthropic grand dame of Venezuelan society. With Alfredo, Veronica also had a son, Carlos Alejandro Beracasa in 1968. Veronica later married Randolph Apperson Hearst, chairman of the Hearst Corporation and grandfather of thriving socialites Lydia Hearst, Gillian Hearst-Shaw, and Amanda Hearst.

Fabiola is known for her impeccable style. Her mother Veronica was fitted for Balenciaga couture at the age of 16 and Fabiola is no exception. While a student, Fabiola was a summer intern to Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel in Paris.  She worked in the special events department of Christian Dior, which she left to work for Circa, the estate jeweler, where she is creative director.

In press interviews, Fabiola has has attributed her socializing to spreading the Circa business image and was significant in claiming that socials no longer mingle without reason: behind every trust-funded woman of social acumen is a business enterprise. Fabiola is a grand connosieur of fashion and reputedly has 14 closets of couture and countless more through her mother.

Tinsley Mortimer, Fabiola Beracasa, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Eleanor Ylvisaker
Chanel’s Rouge Allure Party, January 11, 2006
Photograph © Style.com