Fashion designer Miuccia Prada was born on May 10, 1949, in Milan, Italy. Once a member of the Italian Communist Party and a mime student, Prada was an unlikely entrepreneur when she took over her family's luggage business in 1978. She first dazzled the fashion world in 1985 with a series of black nylon handbags and backpacks. Prada is now a billion-dollar company.