Yasmin Aga Khan

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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 younger daughter of American movie actress and dancer Rita Hayworth, and the third child of Aly Khan, Pakistan's representative to the United Nations from February 1958 until his death in 1960. Her paternal half-brother was Karim al-Husayni, the fourth Aga Khan.

Early life

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Khan's parents, Rita Hayworth and Aly Khan in 1952

Khan was born at Clinique de Montchoisi in Lausanne, Switzerland;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> she spent her early life with her mother and her maternal half-sister, Rebecca Welles Manning, daughter of Hayworth's marriage to Orson Welles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her half-brothers are Karim Aga Khan IV and Amyn Aga Khan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In January 1953, her parents' divorce was granted on the grounds of extreme mental cruelty. Khan, then only three years old, played about the court while the case was being heard, finally climbing on to the judge's lap.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She attended Buxton School,<ref name=engaged/> a small boarding school in Williamstown, Massachusetts,<ref name=DansPapers/> and the International School of Geneva. In 1973, she graduated from Bennington College<ref name= "notable alumni"/><ref name=engaged/> in the United States and was interested in opera singing.<ref name=DansPapers>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Philanthropic activities

Influenced by the death of her mother, for whom she cared for many years, from Alzheimer's disease, Khan serves on the board of directors, as vice chairman, of Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Association.<ref name= "notable alumni">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 Khan describing how her mother took up painting while struggling with Alzheimer's and produced beautiful works of art.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Yasmin Aga Khan (center) with Margo Catsimatidis and Rodolfo Valentin.jpg

Khan (center), Margo Catsimatidis (wife of John Catsimatidis), and Rodolfo Valentin at the 2006 Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala

Personal life

She married her first husband, Greek economist and shipping heir Basil Embiricos, in 1985.<ref name=engaged>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple had a son, Andrew Ali Embiricos (1986–2011). Yasmin and Embiricos were divorced in 1987.

Her son Andrew Embiricos was found dead in his Chelsea, Manhattan, apartment on December 4, 2011. Authorities said the cause of death was suicide. He was 25. Some articles falsely claimed that it was apparently a case of autoerotic asphyxiation that accidentally caused his death and about his drug addiction, which was never proved.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She married her second husband, Christopher Michael Jeffries, in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They divorced in 1993.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Alzheimer's Association Official Website