Born 150 Years Today: Mistinguett, Queen of the Music Hall

Born 150 years ago today, French chanteuse Mistinguett (Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois, 1873-1956).

The daughter of Paris laborers, Mistinguett (originally Miss Tinguette) initially sang while selling flowers in restaurants. She took lessons in voice, acting and music, and never grew to be a great singer so she focused on having an entertaining (and sexy) personality. She debuted at the Casino de Paris circa 1895, and soon became a star there as well as at the Folies Bergère, and the Moulin Rouge. At her peak Mistinguett was the highest paid female entertainer in the world, and an international star. Her 1915 son “Mon Homme” became popularized in the U.S. by Fanny Brice as “My Man” starting with the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921. In 1924 Mistinguett starred on Broadway herself, in the Shubert show Innocent Eyes. The other thing posterity remembers her for is having been the long term lover of Maurice Chevalier, 13 years her junior, whom she basically put on the map. She also starred in dozens of films, most of them of the silent era. Those who paid her tribute included Colette,Jean Cocteau, and Josephine Baker.

For more on show business history, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.