La Belle Otero

La Belle Otéro, origin. Augustine Caroline Otero Iglesias ( born December 25, 1868 in Pontevedra, Galicia, † April 10, 1965 in Nice ) was a Spanish dancer, singer and mistress of countless kings and queens, rich tycoons and famous artists.

Life

The first professional year

La Belle Otéro published in 1887 her debut at the Teatro Avenida with a dance and singing performance, on the operetta La Via Fran. After she had the force of Florio connected, she joined Porto on with Spanish songs. In Porto, it is said to have married an impoverished Spanish count. Her performance at the Crystal Palace of Marseille led to a scandal. It was followed by appearances in Paris. 1890, she appeared along with her dance partner Evariste in New York. My guest was so successful that it was extended until 1891. Your total income they playful after her return to Europe in the Casino of Monte Carlo. It was followed by appearances in the Berlin conservatory in Vienna, Budapest, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

In 1894 she made her debut at the Folies Bergère. Due to her success, she was offered by the director Edouard Marchand a commitment over ten seasons. Guest tours led, inter alia, they to Munich and Berlin. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II drew for them the pantomime The model, which she performed with Paul Franck. In October 1900, she played the role of Une fête à Mercédes in Seville, a pantomime by René Bréviaire in Paris. This was followed by further successful appearances in variety shows and revues until 1905.

In December 1906, she married the English industrialist René Wep in Paris. In 1908 she starred in the Folies -Bergère and in September 1909 in the pantomime La Belle Mexicaine. 1912/13, she retired from the stage and began to squander their wealth, until they paid their money so that they no longer appeared at the gaming tables of casinos. On some wall paintings in the salons casinos of Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo La belle Otéro was immortalized to this day. At the age of almost 97 years, La Belle Otéro died in 1965 in modest circumstances in Nice. In memory of La Belle Otéro a plaque was attached to the house where she lived until recently attached ( 26 rue d' Angleterre, Nice).

Royal romances

In the years 1892 to 1910, she met her " royal lovers " know, including Prince Albert I, King Leopold II, Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Nicholas, Emperor Wilhelm II, King Alfonso XIII. , King Edward VII, King Peter I. Abbas II, Gabriele D' Annunzio and the Shah of Persia, with whom she maintained a multi-year relationship.

From her admirers and lovers she got precious gifts, such as jewels, houses, but also benefited otherwise by these acquaintances. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Otero was one of the richest women of her era ( Belle Epoque ), their jewels one can probably be described as legendary. The French daily Le Figaro counted on in 1905 some jewels of La Belle Otero; among them were so exquisite pieces such as a necklace, which once called Queen Marie Antoinette her own, a portion of the diamonds in the ex-Empress Josephine or a pearl necklace owned by the French Empress Eugénie, a chain of the courtesan Léonide Leblanc, as well as a diamond bolero of Louis- François Cartier.

Screen actress

In August 1898 Caroline Otero turned in Saint Petersburg with Félix Mesguich, an employee of the French film company Lumiere, a one-minute film Valse Brillante. The film caused a scandal because an officer was watching in a frivolous scene. The Otero thus was the first film star.