Colette

Sidonie-Gabrielle Claudine Colette Gauthier-Villars de Jouvanel Goudeket is a name that was not recognized by anyone. Colette, though, was one of the most famous names in France. She was elected the first woman president of the Goncourt Academy, a French literary organization in Paris. Her novels and short stories were popular with many people, including housewives, shop girls and laborers. France's leading woman writer was born on January 28, 1873, in the village of Saint-Sauver-en-Puisaye in Burgundy.

In 1893, Colette married her first husband Henry Gauthier-Villars. Colette’s first four novels, known as the Claudine stories, where published under her husband’s name who was a well-known author and publisher. Colette claims to have never become a writer if it weren’t for her husband Willy. They were divorced in 1910. Since the copyright to her Claudine books belonged to Willy, she had no access to the earnings from these novels. To earn money, Colette began a stage career in music halls in France and sometimes played Claudine in sketches from her novels. During this time she also had relationships with other women.

In 1912 she married her second husband Henry de Jouvenel and they had a daughter together in 1913. During this marriage she was able to spend more time on her writing. In 1920 she published a novel by the name of //Cheri//. Her marriage to Jouvenel ended in divorce in 1924. He had been unfaithful to her and she had her own affair with her sixteen-year-old stepson. She married her third and final husband, Maurice Goudeket in 1925. The 1920s and 1930s were Colette’s best years for writing. Her novels usually featured women dealing with the same issues that she had dealt with in her own life. In 1944 she published her most famous novel, //Gigi//. In 1949, it was made into a French film and then adapted for the stage in 1951. The title role was played by Audrey Hepburn. The 1958 Hollywood musical won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Colette was recognized for her writing and was elected to the Belgian Royal Academy. Many people in different areas of the arts have paid tribute to Colette. Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash wrote a song about her called “The Summer I Read Colette” in 1996. Truman Capote wrote a short story about her called “The White Rose”. Numerous items related to Colette's life can also be found in The Colette Study Centre in France. Colette died on August 3, 1954. She was the first French woman of letters to be given a state funeral. Her multiple divorces kept her from being granted a religious funeral by the Catholic Church.