Actor sells her Chanel handbag collection to pay for divorce

Christina Ricci said she had "quite a Chanel handbag collection".

Acclaimed American actor Christina Ricci has a fortune worth millions of dollars but even she found herself in a tough spot financially while going through a divorce.

The Addams Family actor split from film producer James Heerdegen, her husband of seven years, in 2020, accusing him of "severe physical and emotional abuse".

“Certain traumas in life go along with financial traumas, extended court situations, custody situations (and) fighting restraining orders," she told The Sunday Times in an interview.

Ricci paid for these expenses by selling her prized collections of Chanel Bags and jewellery.

“There are certain things that I have collected - certain bags. I had quite a Chanel handbag collection for a while, but I sold a lot of things,” the actor said.

"I also had a Chanel Fine jewelry collection that I put to good use,” she added.

She described the luxury items as "investment pieces" that she learnt to use in different ways.

"I’m absolutely doing fine; there’s no issue," she added.

Handbags from Chanel are highly-sought after and have seen big increase in prices over the years.

According to auction house Sotheby's, the price of a Chanel Medium Classic Flap bag rose from $1,150 in 1990 to $7,800 in July 2021.

Since the COVID-1 9 pandemic began, Chanel increased the price of its bags four times.

The fashion house said its prices reflected a sense of exclusivity as well as its values.

"Buying a Chanel bag brings with it renowned expertise and French design, an unfailing commitment to preserve skills and craftsmanship, leading-edge innovative manufacture, and guaranteed provenance of the raw materials (leather, jewelry ornamentations, etc.)," it said.

Bloomberg reported in September that designer handbags were becoming a highly desired investment commodities.

It cited a study from Credit Suisse Group AG showing that the value of Chanel bags increased 24.5 percent compared to the previous year.