Coco Chanel

Costume & Make-Up

Born August 19, 1883 — Died January 10, 1971

From Saumur, Pays de la Loire

Also known as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, Gabrielle Chanel

Biography

Gabriel Bonheur Chanel (Coco) was born in 1883. When her mother died Coco was only twelve years old. Her father abandons her and her siblings in the largest orphanage of the region, a convent in Aubazine. She started working in Moulins as a shop girl with a local milliner and the age of twenty-five...