Anne Marie Chassaigne was born outside of Paris and was educated in a convent. Later she entered an arranged marriage with a husband who abused her but she ran away to Paris and there she became the legendary Liane de Pougy. In Paris she qucikly establihed a clientele of men who SHOWERED her with jewels and other presents, she also was a dancer. Liane was openly bisexual and her first love of her life was Natalie Barney. Barney was a wealthy American heiress. She broke Liane's heart. The second love of her life was a Roumanian Prince named Georges Ghika. And became: Princess Ghika. Much later after Prince Ghika's death Liane totally change her ways and became a nun.
The rival during that time was another beauty: Caroline (La Belle) Otero. La Belle ran away from home when she was 12 years old and started dancing at cafees and music halls in Paris. In between she had a million of love affairs. Her lovers included the kings of England, Serbia, and Spain, the Kaiser, the Russian Grand Dukes, Peter and Nicholas, the Duke of Westminster and Gabriele d'Annunzio. Men fought over her and showered her too with jewels. But La Belle too at last totally changed and moved to the south of France and live a very quiet and in the end, poor life.
Soft, elegant and refined, Liane de Pougy and La Belle enraptured all Paris that generated long and true duels of beauty, jewels, covered carts and loving between the two dancers. They often was seen at the legendary Maxim's Bar.
Two very interesting lives.
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