La Belle Otero
| Carolina “La Belle” Otero | |
|---|---|
La Belle Otero, by Jean Reutlinger
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|
| Born |
Agustina Otero Iglesias 4 November 1868 Valga, Spain |
| Died | 12 April 1965 (aged 96) Nice, France |
| Occupation | Dancer, actress, courtesan |
| Parent(s) | Unknown (father) Carmen Otero Iglesias (mother) |
Carolina “La Belle” Otero (4 November 1868 – 12 April 1965) was a Galician-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Born Agustina Otero Iglesias in Valga, Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain), her family was impoverished, and as a child she moved to Santiago de Compostela working as a maid. At ten she was raped, which left her sterile, and at fourteen she left home with her boyfriend and dancing partner, Paco, and began working as a singer/dancer in Lisbon.
She reportedly married an Italian nobleman, Count Guglielmo, when she was 14. Her second husband, whom she married in 1906, was René Webb, an English cotton spinner.
In 1888 she found a sponsor in Barcelona who moved with her to Marseilles in order to promote her dancing career in France. She soon left him and created the character of La Belle Otero, fancying herself a Romani Andalusian. She wound up as the star of Folies Bèrgere productions in Paris.
Within a short number of years, Otero grew to be the most sought after woman in all of Europe. She was serving, by this time, as a courtesan to wealthy and powerful men of the day, and she chose her lovers carefully. She associated herself with the likes of Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Kings of Serbia, and Kings of Spain as well as Russian Grand Dukes Peter and Nicholas, the Duke of Westminster and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio. Her love affairs made her infamous, and the envy of many other notable female personalities of the day.
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