23 Things You Never Knew About Designer Diane von Furstenberg

Diane married Prince Egon of Fürstenberg in 1969, but the two divorced a few years — and two kids! — later. She wasn't allowed to keep her title when they split, but she did keep the name.

She once told Harper's Bazaar, "Most people's mothers are the most influential person in their life. But my mother survived the camps, and she was very strong. She made me strong, but she wanted me to be strong. That's more important."

But, just like her famous book title says, Diane knew the woman she wanted to be. "I wanted to be an independant woman," Diane once revealed in an interview. "A woman that could pay for her bills, a woman that could run her own life. And I became that woman."

Even though Diane was still royalty at the time, she really wanted to work. "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career," she revealed to The New York Times in 1977. "I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her desserts."

When Diane brought a suitcase full of her designs to Vogue's then-editor-in-chief's office, she received positive feedback and was quickly added to the lineup for New York Fashion Week.

After seeing Julie pair one of her wrap tops with one of her skirts, Diane had the idea to combine them — and did!

And a Newsweek story labeled her "the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel."

He's responsible for creating Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. The two had dated after Diane's divorce but didn't truly get together until much later and married in 2001. Speaking about her husband, Diane once said, "What's extraordinary about him is that he loves me so unbelievably unconditionally."

Like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, they have pledged to give half of their fortune to philanthropy.

In 1985, Diane "took a step back from the fashion industry," moved to Paris, and started a French publishing house called Salvy. She relaunched her collection in 1997.

She was elected after the organization honored her with a lifetime achievement award.

"As we approach New York Fashion Week, let's remember that beauty is health and health is beauty," she wrote in a letter for the CFDA. "It is also important to remember that beauty is diversity and as an industry, we stand by these two principles. It is essential to remind ourselves of this as we spread the message to the world."

In 2007, a handful of Diane's dresses were copied by the fast-fashion brand.

It was called House of DVF and so far has had two seasons. The contestants compete to become the brand's next ambassador.

Diane: A Signature Life was released in '09, while The Woman I Wanted to Be came out in 2014.

She was number 33 on the list of the 100 Most Powerful Women, even beating out Anna Wintour as the highest-ranked name in the industry.

After Ralph told her how a ringing in his ear led him to discover his brain tumor, Diane visited the doctor. "The minute he tells me that, I have a noise in my ear," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2009. "And I think to myself, 'I'm crazy. He tells me about that and I have a noise in my ear?' So I pay no attention. The next day, I still have a noise in my ear, so I immediately went to the doctor, who found nothing wrong with my ear. But he said, 'You know you have a swollen gland here.'" They later removed a cyst from her tongue, and Diane underwent eight weeks of radiation.

"I think Donatella Versace and I had more Manolos than anyone else," Diane told Footwear News in 2015. "I would not be saying that, but it's a lot. I keep them all."

Remember this gold dress that Serena van der Woodsen wore to a Studio 54 party? DVF!

Here she is during a trip to Australia in 2014.

The first lady is also a fan of the wrap dress — despite the fact that Diane once spoke out against Michelle after she chose to wear a non-American designer to a state dinner.

She released one collection in 2012 and another the following year.

Diane supported Hillary in the '08 election, and this time around she even created a t-shirt ($45) for the presidential candidate.