Meet The Real Family Behind House of Gucci

House of Gucci recounts the betrayal, scandal, and murder that befell the Italian fashion house in the ’80s and ’90s. The film boasts a powerhouse cast, with Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, and more playing members of the Gucci family. Here, meet their real-life counterparts.

There’s already Oscar buzz for Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani, the scorned wife-turned-murderer who married into one of Italy’s most famous families. Gaga went full method for the role, telling British Vogue, “I never broke. I stayed with her.”

Patrizia, now 72, spent 16 years in prison. She was released eight years early in 2014, and took a job at jewelry label Bozart as part of her parole.

Regarding House of Gucci, Patrizia told an Italian outlet that she was “annoyed” Lady Gaga didn’t reach out to her.

Adam Driver plays the slain Gucci heir and Gaga’s onscreen husband, Maurizio Gucci. In 1995, Maurizio was shot four times on his way to the office, and died at age 46. Patrizia plotted his assassination.

Maurizio is survived by his daughters, Allegra and Alessandra Gucci. Sara Gay Forden, who wrote the book on which House of Gucci is based, described Maurizio to ABC News as “so charismatic,” adding that he “had a contagious enthusiasm.”

Jeremy Irons plays patriarch Rodolfo Gucci, Maurizio’s father. Before joining the family business, Rodolfo starred in over 40 silent movies under the stage name Maurizio D’Ancora — and met his wife, Sandra Revel, while filming one of them.

Rodolfo died in 1983, leaving his half of Gucci’s shares to his son, Maurizio. According to Forden, Rodolfo was a “reserved, patrician gentleman.”

Al Pacino plays another Gucci heir: Rodolfo’s business-savvy brother, Aldo, who also owned 50% of the company at one point.

When Aldo’s son, Paolo, tried to start his own label under his own name, Aldo threatened the suppliers who worked with him. Paolo then helped the police convict his father for tax evasion in 1986. Aldo died from prostate cancer years later, in 1990.

It’s only fitting that Jared Leto, a longtime Gucci ambassador, plays a member of the Gucci family: Paolo Gucci, Aldo’s son and Maurizio’s cousin. Leto is almost unrecognizable as the balding Gucci, who also worked at the family business.

Paolo, who notoriously aided his father’s arrest, also briefly went to jail for contempt of court. He died just a few months after Maurizio in 1995, from chronic hepatitis complications. In 2010, his ex-wife, Jenny, wrote the tell-all Gucci Wars.