Before she called herself
Mistinguett, she was Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois, born on April 5, 1875 in
Enghien, France to alcoholic parents.
Despite their own problems, the Bourgeois wanted their daughter to be a
lady so they sent her to school and demanded she learn to play the violin. Jeanne, however, had other ambitions. She dropped out of school to sell carnations
in front of a local casino and traded her violin lessons for singing lessons. By the time she was 15, the young girl was a
popular performer in the local cafés. When
a song-writing acquaintance made up the name Miss Tinguette, Jeanne took it as
her own running it together and dropping the final ‘e’. In 1895, Mistinguett debuted at the Casino de
Paris and soon became the toast of Parisian nightlife.
Each evening at 9:30 sharp, she
made her dramatic entrance in the spotlight.
Descending an enormous flight of stairs, wearing colorful feathers and
sparkling jewelry, Mistinguett carefully navigated each step. Cautiously balancing an enormous headdress
while maneuvering an exaggerated train behind her, she reached the front of the
stage and took charge. Her numbers,
ranging from soft ballads to bawdy dance routines, secured her place in the limelight.
By 1906, she teamed up with a much
younger partner, 18-year-old Maurice Chevalier.
In their very first dance number, they rolled themselves up in a
rug. As the weeks wore on and they fine-tuned
their steps, Chevalier worked up the nerve to kiss her while hidden in the
rug. Much to his delight, she liked it
and once said: “It was that damn carpet
that started it all.” The two had an on-again off -again relationship for decades.
Mistinguett lived large
surrounding herself with luxury and royal lovers. Aside from her Paris apartment, she owned magnificent
homes in Normandy, Bougival and Antibes and her torrid love affairs were
legendary. She carried on with an Indian
Prince, a Spanish king, as well as a future king of England. She was also known to have turned down the King of Sweden and
the German Crown Prince. Unashamed of her
influence over some of the most powerful men in the world, she never hesitated
to call on any one of them for favors.
In addition to her colorful life,
it’s believed she worked covertly for the French Military Intelligence during
the First World War. Her exact business
with the French government remains shrouded in secrecy, but in 1918, the French
military court asked her to testify against a German espionage ring that she
helped uncover. Due to the highly sensitive
nature of the case, the records were permanently sealed and have never been
made public.
Mistinguett played the Paris music
halls for over 50 years. She was, at one
time, the highest paid female entertainer in the world. In 1919, her legs were insured for 500,000
francs. She was the first to sing ‘Mon
Homme’ whose English version ‘My Man’ was later made famous by funny girl Fanny
Brice. She also popularized the elaborate showgirl
costumes with their weighty headpieces that are still favored in Las Vegas.
Upon hearing of the the fatal
stroke that claimed her life on January 5, 1956, Maurice Chevalier wrote: “…You
can take your rest, Mist. You who
were the Parisienne personified, more than anyone ever was before, as much as
anyone will ever be again. You were the
body and soul, the wit and chic of the feminine city. They all adored you… and you will remain, for
everyone, a shining light in the City of Lights.”
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