 Postcard with photo of Cléo de Mérode (1901), by Reutlinger. Cléopâtre-Diane de Merode, known as Cléo de Mérode, is a dancer, model and beauty icon of France. She was born on 27 September 1875 in Paris and died on 17 October 1966 in the same city. Cléopâtre-Diane de Merode, dite Cléo de Mérode, est une danseuse, modèle et icône de beauté française née le 27 septembre 1875 dans le 5e arrondissement de Paris et morte le 17 octobre 1966 dans le 8e arrondissement de la même ville.  Biography Cléopâtre-Diane de Merode was born in Paris, France on 27 September 1875, as the illegitimate daughter of Vincentia Marie Cécilia von Merode (1850-1899), a Belgian baroness and her lover, an upper class Austrian. Although Vincentia de Merode was abandoned by her lover, her family provided her and her daughter with financial support, and Cléopâtre-Diane de Merode studied in the convent of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Paris, then trained at the dance school of Opéra de Paris.  Cléo de Mérode, by Paul Nadar, 1894  Cléo de Merode, by Charles Ogerau, 1895 In 1896, Cléopâtre-Diane, by then called Cléo de Mérode, created a ballet in the casino of Royan by French composer Louis Ganne Phryné, which later became an important piece in Opéra de Paris. She also danced in other ballets created by different composers, such as Coppélia, Sylvia ou la Nymphe de Diane by Léo Delibes, Les Deux Pigeons by André Messager, L'Étoile by André Wormser and Le Couronnement de la Muse by Gustave Charpentier. In 1898 Cléo de Mérode left Opéra de Paris and since then embarked on her career as an independent dancer and sometimes choreographer, until the breakout of The First World War. In 1900, she produced and danced in the ballet danses cambodgiennes, at the Universal Exposition in Paris; In 1902, she created Tanagra inspired by the poem of same name by Paul Franck, as well as another ballet Phoébé. In 1901, the director of Folies Bergère, Édouard Marchand, hired her to dance in a three act ballet pantomime Lorenza, his last creation in Paris. Cléo de Mérode retired from her dancing career 1924, and since then, had only danced occasionally.  Cléo de Mérode in ballet costume Although a successful dance of her epoque, Cléo de Mérode was known by her extraordinary beauty. She was courted by countless men, many of them famous, including King Léopold II of the Belgians. Various artists of her time were also inspired by her beauty, and she had posed for the sculptor Alexandre Falguière, the painters Edgar Degas, Jean-Louis Forain, Giovanni Boldini, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, etc.  Cléo de Mérode by Giovanni Boldini, 1901 Some of the artists, like Paul Klee, as well as the writers of the time, such as Jean de Tinan, Georges Rodenbach, also left written testimonial expressing their fascination of the beauty and grace of Cléo de Mérode. French writer Jean Cocteau wrote that she was « la Belle des belles »(The Beauty of the beauties). And thanks to the photographers of her époque, in particular Léopold-Émile Reutlinger (1863-1937), who was mesmerized by her delicate beauty, Cléo de Mérode's image was diffused internationally, making her one of the first women well known around the world.  Cléo de Merode, by Charles Ogerau, 1902  Cleo de Merode, 1903  Cléo de Merode by Reutlinger  Cleo de Merode, 1905  Cléo de Mérode, 1905 In 1896, Cléo de Mérode was elected “Beauty Queen” by the readers of The Paris magazine L'Illustration based on the photos. The Magazine had presented to their reader 131 celebrities, including Sarah Bernhardt for them to choose from. And that same year, Cléo de Mérode became more notorious when French sculptor Alexandre Falguière presented his nude sculpture of the dancer titled La Danseuse at the Salon des artistes français. Cléo de Mérode defended her honor acclaiming that she had never posed for the sculptor naked and accused Alexandre Falguière using her head together with the body of another model.  Cléo de Mérode by Mariano Benlliure, 1910  Cléo de Mérode, 1910  But hard as she tried defending herself, Cléo de Mérode's fame was tinted, worsened by the rumor that she was the lover of King Léopold II of the Belgians. And she would have to fight for her reputation for the rest of her life. In 1949, the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir mentioned Cléo de Mérode as a "Cocotte"(a woman of certain reputation) in her book Le Deuxième Sexe (The Second Sex). Cléo de Mérode filed a lawsuit against the philosopher reclaiming millions of francs. She won the lawsuit the second year with a symbolic one franc. But her reputation was not completed saved. Even as late as 2015, long after her death, Cléo de Mérode was included in an exposition of the prostitution of Belle Époque at musée d'Orsay. In 1955, she published her autobiography, titled Le Ballet de ma vie(The Ballet of My Life), in which she revealed her real relations with King Léopold II of the Belgians. Cléo de Mérode died on 17 October 1966 at her home in Paris, at the age of 91.  Portrait of Cléo de Mérode by Spanish painter Manuel Benedito(1873-1963) BiographieIssue d'une naissance illégitime, elle est la fille naturelle de Vincentia Marie Cécilia von Merode (1850-1899), baronne belge issue de la branche autrichienne de la famille de Merode, abandonnée par son amant, membre de la haute bourgeoisie autrichienne. Vincentia de Merode conserve toutefois le soutien financier de sa famille. Sa fille étudie chez les sœurs de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, rue de Monceau à Paris. Cléo de Merode, par Charles Ogerau, 1895 Formée à l'école de danse de l'Opéra de Paris, Cléopâtre-Diane, dite Cléo de Mérode, crée en 1896 au casino de Royan Phryné, un ballet de Louis Ganne, puis est nommée grand sujet à l'Opéra de Paris et danse dans Coppélia, Sylvia ou la Nymphe de Diane de Léo Delibes, Les Deux Pigeons d'André Messager, L'Étoile d'André Wormser et Le Couronnement de la Muse de Gustave Charpentier. Elle quitte l'institution en 1898 puis entreprend une carrière indépendante internationale et danse jusqu'à la Première Guerre mondiale. Son charme lui vaut alors une foule d'admirateurs intéressés. Elle se produit à l'Exposition universelle de Paris en 1900 dans les « danses cambodgiennes », crée en 1902 à Moscou et Madrid Tanagra sur un poème de Paul Franck puis Phoébé à l'Opéra-Comique à Paris. En 1901, le directeur des Folies Bergère, Édouard Marchand, la recrute pour un ballet pantomime en trois actes dénommé Lorenza. C’est le dernier grand spectacle qu'il organise dans cette salle parisienne.  Cléo de Mérode dans le ballet Lorenza en 1901 aux Folies Bergère, cliché Reutlinger. Malgré une rentrée réussie en 1924, elle décide de se retirer du monde de la danse à Paris. Sur la demande d'Henri Varna et Émile Audiffred, elle reparaît ponctuellement sur scène en juin 1934 dans La revue 1900 aux côtés du danseur George Skibine. « Je portais une robe de satin rose, baleinée à la taille, très longue, avec un ruché dans le bas. Nous dansions cinq valses à la file ; nous finissions par un grand tourbillon, et Skibine m'emportait dans ses bras au fond de la scène ». Sa beauté délicate, hors des canons de beauté 1900, est restée légendaire, ainsi que les hommages qu'elle reçoit de quelques célèbres soupirants, plus particulièrement le roi Léopold II de Belgique, aventures qu'elle relate dans ses mémoires, Le Ballet de ma vie, publiées en 1955 par les Éditions Horay, à Paris. La rumeur infondée de leur liaison et, par conséquent de son influence sur la politique belge et congolaise, a cependant nui à sa réputation.  Léopold II (roi des Belges), né le 9 avril 1835 au palais royal de Bruxelles et mort le 17 décembre 1909 au château de Laeken Elle pose pour le sculpteur Alexandre Falguière, pour les peintres Edgar Degas, Jean-Louis Forain, Giovanni Boldini, elle est représentée par Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, par le verrier capitaine d’industries et artiste Georges Despret, et a son effigie en cire au musée Grévin dès 1895, façonnée par le chef d'atelier du musée, le sculpteur Léopold Bernstamm. Elle est une des premières femmes dont l’image photographique, due notamment aux photographes Paul Nadar (1856-1939), fils et successeur de Félix Nadar, et surtout Léopold-Émile Reutlinger (1863-1937), est diffusée à l'échelle mondiale. Elle pose également pour l'atelier photographique Benque (photographies prises à l'Opéra de Paris, à partir de 1890), le photographe Charles-Pierre Ogerau (1868-1908), auteur d'une série de portraits en 1895, et plus tard, Henri Manuel (1874-1947). Élue « reine de Beauté » sur photographies par les lecteurs de L'Illustration en 1896, parmi 131 célébrités, dont Sarah Bernhardt ; elle accroît sa notoriété la même année avec un parfum de scandale, du fait de l'exposition de la sculpture La Danseuse d’Alexandre Falguière au Salon des artistes français.  Alexandre Falguière, La Danseuse (Salon de 1896), marbre, sculpture pour laquelle Cléo de Mérode a posé. Ce nu en marbre blanc grandeur nature aurait été taillé d'après un moulage en plâtre de son corps, œuvre conservée à Paris au musée d'Orsay. Si le grain de la peau visible sur le plâtre prouve bien un moulage sur le vif, Cléo de Mérode s'est pourtant toujours défendue d'avoir posé nue. Elle accuse Falguière d’avoir fabriqué une œuvre à scandale en moulant le corps de la statue sur un autre modèle féminin, alors qu’elle n’aurait posé que pour la tête. Des personnalités contemporaines aussi diverses que les hommes de lettres Jean de Tinan, Georges Rodenbach, ou le peintre Paul Klee, laissent des témoignages écrits exprimant le pouvoir de fascination qu'exerçait son image, en mouvement sur scène, ou fixée par la photographie. Jean Cocteau écrit qu'elle est « la Belle des belles », « cette vierge qui ne l'est pas, cette dame préraphaélite qui marche les yeux baissés à travers les groupes. […] Un autre fantôme l'escorte, un fantôme royal avec un bel éventail de barbe blanche. Le profil de Cléo est tellement gracieux, tellement divin que les caricaturistes s'y brisent ». Le poète fait ici référence à sa liaison supposée mais toujours démentie par elle avec le roi des Belges Léopold II. En 1950, Cléo de Mérode gagne un procès contre Simone de Beauvoir, qui en 1949 dans Le Deuxième Sexe l'assimilait à une « cocotte », ignorant par ailleurs qu'elle était encore en vie. Le juge considère que l'ancienne danseuse aurait dû publiquement démentir cette rumeur à l'époque mais indique que les propos de la philosophe sont inconvenants et la condamne à faire retirer cette mention de son livre et à un franc symbolique d'amende, alors que Cléo de Mérode réclamait millions. Dans Les femmes, actrices de l'Histoire, l'historienne Yannick Ripa écrit : « Réputée pour sa grande beauté, plus encore que pour ses talents de danseuse, Cléo de Mérode luttera toute sa vie contre sa réputation de demi-mondaine ». La même réputation lui est donnée lors d'une exposition sur la prostitution de la Belle Époque en 2015 au musée d'Orsay. Pendant l’Occupation, elle se retire à Saint-Gaultier, dans l’Indre. Elle retourne ensuite vivre à Paris. Elle séjourne plusieurs étés de sa vie à Biarritz ou au château de Rastignac à La Bachellerie en Dordogne, chez la famille Lauwick. En 1955, elle publie son autobiographie, intitulée Le Ballet de ma vie. Elle meurt à l'âge de 91 ans le 17 octobre 1966, à son domicile parisien situé au 15, rue de Téhéran (8e arrondissement de Paris).  Cléo de Mérode est inhumée aux côtés de sa mère Vicentia (Cense de Merode) au cimetière du Père-Lachaise (90e division). Une statue la représentant, sculptée en 1909 par le diplomate et sculpteur espagnol Luis de Périnat, qui fut son amant de 1906 à 1919 — mais qu'elle avait quitté à la suite de son infidélité —, orne leur tombe.  Tombe de Cléo de Mérode ornée d'une statue par Luis de Périnat, Paris, cimetière du Père-Lachaise. Further interestAudio
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 Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, c.1900–05 Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough has become a well-known example of one of the advantageous, but loveless, marriages common during the Gilded Age. The Duke obtained a large dowry by the marriage, and reportedly told her just after the marriage that he married her in order to "save Blenheim" Palace, his ancestral home. Consuelo Vanderbilt and her friends were the inspiration for Edith Wharton's unfinished novel The Buccaneers. Although the teenage Consuelo was opposed to the marriage arranged by her mother, she became a popular and influential Duchess. For much of the marriage, the Marlboroughs lived separately and the marriage was finally annulled. She went on to marry a wealthy French aviator and continued her charitable endeavours.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, by Paul César Helleu BiographyBorn in New York City, Consuelo Vanderbilt was the only daughter and eldest child of William Kissam Vanderbilt, a New York railroad millionaire, and his first wife, a Southern belle Alva Erskine Smith (1853–1933, who later married Oliver Belmont) from Mobile, Alabama, the daughter of a cotton broker. Her Spanish name was in honor of her godmother, Consuelo Yznaga (1853–1909), a half-Cuban, half-American socialite who created a social stir a year earlier when she married the fortune-hunting George, Viscount Mandeville, a union of Old World aristocracy and New World money that caused the groom's father, the 7th Duke of Manchester, to openly wonder if his son and heir had married a "Red Indian". Consuelo Vanderbilt was largely dominated by her mother, who was determined that her daughter would make a great marriage like that of her famous namesake. In her autobiography, Consuelo Vanderbilt described how she was required to wear a steel rod, which ran down her spine and fastened around her waist and over her shoulders, to improve her posture. She was educated entirely at home by governesses and tutors, and learned foreign languages at an early age. Her mother was abusive and whipped her with a riding crop for minor infractions. When, as a teenager, Consuelo objected to the clothing her mother had selected for her, Alva told her that "I do the thinking, you do as you are told."  Consuelo Vanderbilt as a child Consuelo Vanderbilt was considered a great beauty, with a face compelling enough to cause the playwright Sir James Barrie, author of Peter Pan, to write, "I would stand all day in the street to see Consuelo Marlborough get into her carriage." And she attracted numerous title-bearing suitors anxious to trade social position for cash. Her mother reportedly received at least five proposals for her hand. Consuelo was allowed to consider the proposal of just one of the men, Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, but she developed an instant aversion to him.  Consuelo Vanderbilt as a young girl None of the others, however, was good enough for Alva Vanderbilt, who wasdetermined to secure the highest-ranking mate possible for her only daughter, a union that would emphasize the preeminence of the Vanderbilt family in New York society. With the help of Lady Paget, the wife of Sir Arthur Paget, and daughter of an socially ambitious widow of an American hotel entrepreneur, Alva Vanderbilt engineered a meeting between Consuelo and the indebted, titled Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, chatelain of Blenheim Palace. Lady Paget, always short of money, soon became a sort of international marital agent, introducing eligible American heiresses to British noblemen. Consuelo Vanderbilt had no interest in the duke, being secretly engaged to an American, Winthrop Rutherfurd. Her mother cajoled, wheedled, begged, and then, ultimately, ordered her daughter to marry Marlborough. When Consuelo – a docile teenager whose only notable characteristic at the time was abject obedience to her fearsome mother – made plans to elope, she was locked in her room as Alva threatened to murder Rutherfurd. Still she refused. It was only when Alva Vanderbilt claimed that her health was being seriously and irretrievably undermined by Consuelo's stubbornness and appeared to be at death's door that the malleable girl acquiesced. Alva made an astonishing recovery from her entirely phantom illness, and when the wedding took place, Consuelo stood at the altar reportedly weeping behind her veil. The duke, for his part, gave up the woman he reportedly loved back in England and collected US$2.5 million (approximately US$75.2 million in 2019 dollars) in railroad stock as a marriage settlement. His purpose of marrying her was to restore his beloved Bleinheim Palace in Oxfordshire.  Consuelo Vanderbilt with his father William Kissam Vanderbilt  Portrait of Charles Spencer-Churchill, The 9th Duke of Marlborough  Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire Consuelo Vanderbilt married Charles Spencer-Churchill, The 9th Duke of Marlborough at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York City, on 6 November 1895.  Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill, The 9th Duke of Marlborough on their wedding day, 6 November 1895.  Consuelo Vanderbilt on her wedding day, 6 November 1895. After her marriage, Consuelo Vanderbilt's father built a mansion for her in London, Sunderland House in Curzon Street. The new Duchess of Marlborough was adored by the poor and less fortunate tenants on her husband's estate, whom she visited and to whom she provided assistance. She later became involved with other philanthropic projects and was particularly interested in those that affected mothers and children. She was also a social success with royalty and the aristocracy of Britain. Consuelo Vanderbilt gave birth to two sons, John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (who became 10th Duke of Marlborough) and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, 1 July 1899, Lafayette Archive  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, 1 July 1899, Lafayette Archive  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, by Paul César Helleu, c. 1900  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough and Winston Churchill at Blenheim, 1902.  Portrait of The 9th Duke of Marlborough, Duchess of Marlborough and their two sons, by John Singer Sargent, 1905 However, given the ill-fitting match between the duke and his wife, it was only a matter of time before their marriage was in name only. The duchess eventually was smitten with her husband's cousin, the Hon. Reginald Fellowes, while the duke fell under the spell of Gladys Marie Deacon, an eccentric American of little money but, like Consuelo, dazzling to look at and of considerable intellect.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough, c. 1903, by Paul César Helleu.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough with her son, 1906, by Giovanni Boldini  Gladys Marie Deacon(7 February 1881-13 October 1977), by by Giovanni Boldini, c1905  Gladys Marie Deacon(7 February 1881-13 October 1977) The Marlboroughs separated in 1906.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough, c. 1910  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough and their two sons, by John Singer Sargent, 1905  Consuelo Vanderbilt, The Duchess of Marlborough, c. 1911  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough and their two sons, by John Singer Sargent, 26 June 1911.  onsuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, with Charles Spencer-Churchill, The 9th Duke of Marlborough, at Derby, 1914 Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill, The Duke of Marlborough divorced in 1921. Shortly afterwards, on 25 June 1921 The Duke of Marlborough married Gladys Deacon.  Wedding of 9th Duke of Marlborough and Gladys (née Deacon), Duchess of Marlborough A few days later, on 4 July 1921, Consuelo Vanderbilt married Colonel Jacques Balsan, a textile manufacturing heir and a record-breaking pioneer French balloon, aircraft, and hydroplane pilot who once worked with the Wright Brothers. Jacques Balsan was a younger brother of Etienne Balsan, who was an early lover of Coco Chanel.  Jacques Balsan(16 September 1868-4 November 1956)  Consuelo Vanderbilit with her husband Jacques Balsan(16 September 1868-4 November 1956) On 19 August 1926, the marriage of Consuelo Vanderbilt and The Duke of Marlborough was annulled, at the duke's request and with Consuelo's assent, Though largely embarked upon as a way to facilitate the Anglican duke's desire to convert to Roman Catholicism, the annulment, to the surprise of many, also was fully supported by the former duchess's mother, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, who testified that the Vanderbilt–Marlborough marriage had been an act of unmistakable coercion. In later years, Consuelo and her mother enjoyed a closer, easier relationship. After the annulment of her marriage to the Duke of Marlborough, Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan still maintained ties with favorite Churchill relatives, particularly Winston Churchill, cousin of The 9th Duke of Marlborough. He was a frequent visitor to her château, in Saint-Georges-Motel, a small commune near Dreux about 50 miles from Paris, in the 1920s and 1930s, where he completed his last painting before the war.  Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan with Jacques Balsan in their château de Saint-Georges-Motel, in Normandy (1930-1940). Records in Florida show that in 1932 Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan built a home in Manalapan, Florida, just south of Palm Beach. It was designed as a love nest by Maurice Fatio. The dream home of 26,000 square feet is called Casa Alva, in honor of her mother. Although Consuelo sold her home in 1957, it still exists. The Duke of Marlborough and his new wife Gladys Deacon's marriage did not turn out to be a happy one. Gladys Deacon, famed for her Greek beauty became increasingly eccentric and evicted from Blenheim Palace. On 30 June 1934, The Duke of Marlborough died of heart attack, at age 88. Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan published her insightful but not entirely candid autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, in 1953. It was ghostwritten by Stuart Preston, an American writer who was an art critic for The New York Times. A reviewer in the same paper called it "an ideal epitaph of the age of elegance."  Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan's autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, 1953  Consuelo Vanderbilit with her husband Jacques Balsan(16 September 1868-4 November 1956) Jacques Balsan died in New York on 4 November 1956 at the age of 88. Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan died at Southampton, Long Island, New York, on 6 December 1964. She was buried alongside her younger son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, in the churchyard at St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire, England, near her former home, Blenheim Palace. During World War I, Consuelo Vanderbilt worked as the chair of the Economic Relief Committee for the American Women's War Relief Fund. During the inter-war period, she and Winaretta Singer-Polignac (the Princess de Polignac and Singer Sewing Machine heiress) worked together in the construction of a 360-bed hospital destined to provide medical care to middle class workers. The result of this effort is the Foch Hospital, located in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris, France. The hospital also includes a school of nursing and is one of the top ranked hospitals in France, especially for renal transplants. It has remained true to its origins and stayed a private not-for-profit institution that still serves the Paris community. It is managed by the Fondation médicale Franco-américaine du Mont-Valérien, commonly called Foundation Foch.  Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, c.1900–05  Carolina Otero, La Bella Otero(4 November 1869-12 April 1965) Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias (4 November 1868 – 10 April 1965), better known as Carolina Otero or La Belle Otero, was a Spanish actress, dancer and courtesan. She had a reputation for great beauty and was famous for her numerous lovers.  Agustina Carolina del Carmen Otero Iglesias, más conocida como Carolina Otero o La Bella Otero (Valga, 4 de noviembre de 1868-Niza, 12 de abril de 1965), fue una bailarina, cantante, actriz y cortesana española afincada en Francia y uno de los personajes más destacados de la Belle Époque francesa en los círculos artísticos y la vida galante de París. Biography Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias was born in Valga (Pontevedra), Galicia, Spain, daughter of a Spanish single mother, Carmen Otero Iglesias (1844–1903), and a Greek army officer, named Carasson. Her family was impoverished, and as a child she moved to Santiago de Compostela working as a maid. At ten she was raped, and at fourteen she left home with her boyfriend and dancing partner, Paco, and began working as a singer/dancer in Lisbon. In 1888 Otero found a sponsor named Ernest Jurgens in Barcelona who moved with her to Marseilles in order to promote her dancing career in France. She soon left him and created the character of La Belle Otero, portraying herself as an Andalusian gypsy. She was pretty, confident, intelligent, with an attractive figure. It was once said of her that her extraordinarily dark black eyes were so captivating that they were "of such intensity that it was impossible not to be detained before them". She wound up as the star of Folies Bèrgere productions in Paris.One of her most famous costumes featured her voluptuous bosom partially covered with glued-on precious gems, and the twin cupolas of the Carlton Hotel built in 1912 in Cannes are popularly said to have been modeled upon her breasts.  La Bella Otero appears with Liane de Pougy and Cléo de Merode in a fashionable crowd in the Bois de Boulogne drawn by Guth, 1897 Within a short number of years, La Bella Otero was said to be the most sought-after woman in Europe. She was serving, by this time, as a courtesan to wealthy and powerful men of the day, and she chose her lovers carefully. She associated herself with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII, Kings of Serbia, and Kings of Spain as well as Russian Grand Dukes Peter and Nicholas, the Duke of Westminster and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio. Her love affairs made her notorious, and the envy of many other notable female personalities of the day. Six men reportedly committed suicide after their love affairs with Otero ended, although this has never been substantiated beyond a doubt. It is a fact, however, that two men did fight a duel over her. In August 1898, in St-Petersburg, the French film operator Félix Mesguich (an employee of the Lumière company) shot a one-minute reel of Otero performing the famous "Valse Brillante." The screening of the film at the Aquarium music-hall provoked such a scandal (because an officer of the Tsar's army appeared in this frivolous scene) that Mesguich was expelled from Russia.   Vintage postcard of La Bella Otero by Léopold-Émile Reutlinger. La Bella Otero retired after World War I, purchasing a mansion and property at a cost of the equivalent of US$15 million. She had accumulated a massive fortune over the years, about US$25 million, but she gambled much of it away over the remainder of her lifetime, enjoying a lavish lifestyle, and visiting the casinos of Monte Carlo often. She lived out her life in a more and more pronounced state of poverty until she died of a heart attack in 1965 in her one-room apartment at the Hotel Novelty in Nice, France. Of her heyday and career, Otero once said, "Women have one mission in life: to be beautiful. When one gets old, one must learn how to break mirrors. I am very gently expecting to die."  Vintage postcard of La Bella Otero by Léopold-Émile Reutlinger. Biografia Hija de una madre soltera y muy pobre (Carmen Otero Iglesias, 1844-1903) y de un oficial de la armada griega llamado Carasson, apenas tuvo acceso a una educación académica. Tuvo cinco hermanos: Gumersindo, Valentín, Adolfo y Francisco, y una hermana gemela, Francisca. En julio de 1879, a los diez años, fue violada por Venancio Romero "Conainas", zapatero del pueblo, a causa de lo cual quedó estéril y huyó de casa unos meses después para no volver nunca más a su pueblo natal, Valga. Tras la fuga decidió usar su segundo nombre: Carolina, en lugar del primero Agustina. A los trece años conoció a su primer amante, Paco, un joven tres años mayor que ella, quien le enseñó a bailar flamenco, a cantar y a ejercer de comediante en los salones de cantantes. Sin embargo, también fue quien la indujo a la prostitución. Cuando ella enfermó, el médico denuncia la situación de la entonces menor de edad y la llevan a casa, pero su madre la rechaza, tras lo que se une a Paco en Lisboa. Trabajó en una compañía de cómicos ambulantes portugueses. Al dejar la compañía se vio obligada a ejercer oficios muy humildes para salir adelante, como trabajar de criada doméstica, bailar en locales de la más diversa índole, e incluso llegar a ejercer la prostitución. En 1888 conoció en Barcelona a un banquero llamado Ernest Jurgens que la quiso promocionar como bailarina por Francia y la llevó a Marsella, aunque enseguida empezó a promocionarse a sí misma hasta llegar a ser una bailarina conocida en toda Francia como La Bella Otero. En la promoción enfatizaba su origen español (muy exótico en Francia por entonces) y se presentaba artísticamente como andaluza y de origen gitano. La construcción del personaje artístico de Otero está tan llena de mitos que incluso han perdurado hasta nuestros días, habiendo biógrafos que sitúan su nacimiento en Cádiz, hija de una gitana, tal y como ella afirmaba en su autobiografía.    Realizó giras por todo el mundo como bailarina exótica y actriz, consiguiendo fama internacional. Se sabe que actuó en Nueva York en 1890, además de visitar otros países como Argentina, Cuba y Rusia, coincidiendo en este último con Rasputín. Otero actuó durante muchos años en París en el Folies Bergère, donde era la estrella y en el Cirque d'été, convirtiéndose en una de las primeras artistas españolas conocida internacionalmente. Otero no era una bailarina profesional y su arte era más instintivo que técnico. Sus danzas eran una mezcla de estilos flamenco, fandangos o danzas exóticas. También era una cantante competente y tenía calidad como actriz. Representó Carmen de Bizet y piezas teatrales como Nuit de Nöel. A pesar de sus éxitos profesionales, Otero había conseguido ascender en el mundo artístico prostituyéndose y haciéndose amante de hombres influyentes. No era una práctica extraña que las artistas ejercieran de cortesanas para aumentar sus ingresos. En la Belle Époque era habitual y los hombres que podían pagar las astronómicas sumas que cobraban estas cortesanas conseguían prestigio. Otero era una de las más famosas y cotizadas de la alta sociedad parisina. Fue amante de Guillermo II de Alemania, Nicolás II de Rusia, Leopoldo II de Bélgica, Alfonso XIII de España, Eduardo VII del Reino Unido y Aristide Briand —con quien tuvo una relación entrañable hasta la muerte del político—, entre otros. Otero llegó a reunir una fabulosa fortuna que, debido a la ludopatía que padecía, fue dilapidando en los casinos de Montecarlo y Niza.   Retirada de los escenarios en 1910, se estableció en Niza, Francia, donde vivió hasta su muerte en 1965 totalmente arruinada y sola. Vivía de una pensión que le pasaba el Casino de Montecarlo en agradecimiento por los millones de francos que en él dejara. Nunca se casó. Falleció de un infarto fulminante en su humilde departamento el 12 de abril de 1965, con noventa y seis años. A su entierro solo asistieron varios crupieres y el gerente del Casino de Montecarlo para despedirla. De su vida se han escrito varias biografías y se han hecho películas y series para la televisión. Debido a que Otero inventó parte de su pasado para ocultar hechos como su violación o sus orígenes extremadamente humildes, muchas biografías, películas u otros trabajos en torno a su persona tienen datos inexactos y hechos que nunca sucedieron de verdad.  Escultura de La Bella Otero en los jardines de Valga, Pontevedra, Espana Further interest |