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Genevieve Lantelme


Geneviève "Ginette" Lantelme (born Mathilde Hortense Claire Fossey, May 20, 1883) was a French stage actress, socialite, fashion icon, and courtesan. Considered by her contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women of the Belle Epoque and bearing a resemblance to American actress Ethel Barrymore, she is remembered for the mysterious circumstances of her death: on the night of July 24/25, 1911, she fell from the yacht of her husband, Alfred Edwards.

Mathilde was the third child of Edouard Fossey, a cashier who later became an accountant, and his wife Claire (maiden name Lantelme). Born in Paris, Mathilde had two older sisters and one younger one. In 1895, Mathilde’s parents divorced, and the court gave custody of the children to Edouard.

Another French actress of the turn of the century, Simone le Bargy, wrote about Lantelme in her memoirs, Sous de nouveaux soleils, in which she claimed, among other things, that Mathilde somehow ended up in a brothel run by her mother at the age of fourteen.

At fourteen she was one of the lures at her mother's brothel, but soon became an acclaimed Paris actress. Theatregoers savoured her reputation for enjoying the bodies of men and women with equal pleasure: her languid slouch was imitated by other Parisian vamps.

What is certain is that as a teenager, Mathilde found protection in powerful men, including Henry Poidatz, banker and owner of Le Matin newspaper, whose mistress she became in her late teens.

With Poidatz’ backing, Mathilde, who wanted to become an actress, embarked on a stage career, taking as her stage name her mother’s maiden name, Lantelme, along with the first name, Geneviève. Poidatz recommended Lantelme to Alphonse Franck, the manager of the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, where she made her debut in a comedy called La Bascule on October 31, 1901, in the tiny part of a housemaid, with a few lines of dialogue.

Several small parts followed, and in October 1903, Lantelme entered the Conservatoire de Paris to study acting, where she was taught by an actor from the Comédie-Francaise named Maurice de Féraudy. Although the students of the Conservatoire were technically not allowed to perform in theatres before they graduated, Lantelme continued to appear on Parisian stages during the period of her studies, under the name of “Telmy.” Lantelme completed her course of study without receiving any prizes or distinctions, as her comedic talent was not valued by her school or her teachers, and resumed stage appearances under the name of Lantelme.


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