Saturday, September 21, 2013

The Lady Gaga of a Century Ago

I was reading through the newspapers of 100 years ago that are available through the Library of Congress's Chronicling America website. I saw a headline and article that caught my attention in the El Paso Herald:



So I had to Google Mlle. Polaire to see the self-described "ugliest woman in the world." She really wasn't ugly...


 But she was outrageous. She was a record holder for a while in the category of tiny waists. Mlle. Polaire claimed her waist was 14 inches around. Her's a picture showing her teeny, tiny waist:


Mlle Polaire's fame stemmed not only from being an actress & singer, but also from being provocative...


See even claimed that she was traveling with a slave who wore a silver medallion with the inscription "I belong to Polaire." Her memoires said that he was a 14 year old boy named Jimmy who she paid to travel with her.



Here is a song that was recorded by her:





Mlle. Polaire's real name was Émilie Marie Bouchaud. She was born in Algeria on May 14, 1874. She died in France on October 14, 1939.

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