Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was born August 19th 1883 in Saumur, France by her parents Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle. Julie(1882) was their first daughter and following was her siblings Coco, Alphonse(1885), Antoinette(1887), Lucien(1889) and Pierre(born & died 1891). In 1895, when Coco was 12 her mother passed away from tuberculosis and her father left the family. Due to her father's leaving, Coco spent 6 years in the orphanage of the Roman

Catholic monastery of Aubazine, until she turned 18 and left to go to the town of Moulins to become a cabaret singer, where she got her nickname "Coco". In the club she performed at she met rich, young textile heir Etienne Balsan, and soon became his mistress. Balsan lavished her in diamonds, dresses, pearls, and anything her heart desired. During her time with Balsan she realized her deep interest in her hat designing hobby. Her first shop she opened was called Chanel Modes in Cambon, Paris. Her business boomed when famous theatre actress Gabrielle Dorizat modeled her hats in the play Bel Ami in 1912. Her business kept climbing after that to where she even made a false history to go with her new life and even told people that she was 10 years younger than she actually was.

In 1925 Coco Vera Bate Lombardi became Coco's assistant/co-worker and means of upper-class connections. At the beginning of WWII Coco closed her shops, she believed it was not a time for fashion. She lived in the Hotel Ritz Paris on and off for 30 years even while the Germans occupied it. In 1943, after 4 years of separation, Coco contacted Lombardi, living in Rome, to come to Paris to renew their work together. This was actually a cover for "Operation Modellhut", an attempt by Nazi spy-master Walter Schellenberg to make secret contact with Lombardi's family member, Winston Churchill. Lombardi refused and was arrested as a British spy by the Gestapo with Coco later charged as a collaborator, but fortunately avoided trial due to an intervention by the British Royal family. In 1945 she moved to Switzerland and eventually moved back to paris in 1954. In that same year Coco released a new collection that, although, did not make much success with the Parisians due to her involvement with the Nazis, did, make a huge success with her most reliable customers, the British and Americans.

There have been many productions of Coco Chanel's life as well as books along with the newest movie, "Coco Before Chanel" by Anne Fontain, starring Audrey Tautou.

Coco Chanel had affairs with some of the most influential men of her time, but never did marry. When she was asked her reason for not marrying the Duke of Westminster, her response was, " There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel."

-Bella Mireles