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Betty Catroux (born Betty Saint in 1945) is a Brazilian-born French former Chanel model, [1] and fashion icon. She has been cited as a muse by both Yves Saint Laurent and Tom Ford.
She was born in Brazil [2] in 1945, [3] [4] the only child of Carmen Saint, a Brazil-born French socialite, and Elim O'Shaughnessy (1907–1966), an American diplomat. The first four years of her life were spent in Brazil before her mother ended a short marriage with a Brazilian man and took her to Paris. [5] She had an easy childhood due to her privileged upbringing. [6]
She did not know who her father was until the age of 12, when she discovered that her mother's "friend" was very similar to her in features. She asked her mother about the peculiar situation, to which Carmen confirmed her thoughts. [7]
Betty had a rough start in her late teens to early adult years, when she relied on drugs and alcohol to have a good time. [7] She and Yves Saint Laurent, a long-time friend and partner in most activities, were notorious for drugs and partying [ citation needed ].
Betty Catroux began her modeling career in the early sixties at the age of 17. [5] Her first employer was Coco Chanel who has been a big fashion name in Paris for decades. It only lasted for two years before she left, claiming, "I hated it, so I decided to take some pictures just to earn money to pay for my own Chez Regine glasses ." [8] She then met Yves Saint Laurent in 1967 [7] who became her sidekick. She inspired him and his fashion work until his death in 2008, but she had never actually worked for him. She just wanted to have fun. [9] The two were inseparable, spending the majority of their free time together. [9] They had a friendly relationship until his death. Reminiscing on their friendship, Catroux said: "I had a fairytale life with him." [10]
Catroux was a big name in the fashion world, despite her dislike for the industry. Yves Saint Laurent has called her his twin sister [11] and referred to her as his female incarnation. [12] Tom Ford was so inspired by her that he dedicated his debut YSL Rive Gauche collection to her. [11] When asked about her fashion sense, Catroux said that she has "dressed the same way practically since I was born. I don't dress as a woman. I'm not interested in fashion at all." [10]
Catroux is famed for her long white-blond hair, lanky 6-foot body, [13] gaunt features, and androgynous appearance. [14] She has never much cared about her style, adopting an effortless, neither feminine nor masculine appearance. Fashion had always been gifted to her through her friendships. Saint Laurent's Le Smoking tuxedo for women, which was revolutionary in the world of style, made its debut on the slender woman. [15] She has been in the spotlight wearing Yves Saint Laurent many times.
Relationships with Loulou de la Falaise and Pierre Berge were also significant, as they were both figures in Catroux and Saint Laurent's lives. La Falaise was another of YSL's major muses. Quite the opposite of Catroux, she balanced out the light and the dark, "like a Devil and an Angel." [6]
Berge and Catroux had a different type of relationship, as he had Saint Laurent's best interest in mind. Because Pierre and Yves were partners, it took her [Betty] about 30 years to convince him that, despite appearances, she was not, and never would be, a bad influence on Yves. [9] The two were quite close, even after Saint Laurent's death. He was like a father figure, keeping Catroux out of trouble. [16]
In 1968, Betty Saint married French interior decorator François Catroux, a grandson of General Georges Catroux. The couple had two daughters: Maxime, a book editor at Flammarion, [17] and Daphné, who is married to Count Charles-Antoine Morand. [18] Her relationships with Daphne and Maxime were easy going and unconventional, according to Daphne. [5] She told an interviewer that she was never like a mother, more like a friend. Yet both daughters know she and Francois love them. [19]
When not in Paris, François and Betty lived together at Les Ramades, a 16th-century stone house in the Lourmarins region of Provence, on 10 lush acres, which they bought in 1990. [5] They lived with their two cats Mic and Mac, and did not often have visitors, according to Francois. He died in November 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/obituaries/francois-catroux-dead.html
In an interview she said, "I did not have any activity, I am a person fully supported, maintained all my life. I do not work, I am a very exceptional case. I was so spoiled, without having any obligation except moral obviously. The only things I did were nice and fun." [8]
Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, referred to as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century. In 1985, Caroline Milbank wrote, "The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its 1960s ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable."
Nadja Auermann is a German model and actress. Fashion designer Valentino once commented on her physical resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. A New York Times fashion columnist, Guy Trebay, wrote of her "ice maiden visage and pole vaulter's legs". She once held the record for being the model with the longest legs in the world in the Guinness Book of Records.
Pierre Vital Georges Bergé was a French industrialist and patron. He co-founded the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent, and was a longtime business partner of its namesake designer.
Marie Galouzeau de Villepin is a French artist, model, actress and singer. The daughter of former Prime Minister and diplomat Dominique de Villepin, she spent most of her childhood in India before moving to various countries in Latin America and Africa, Through her many travels, she began developing drawing and musical skills at an early age.
Hedi Slimane is a French photographer and grand couturier. From 2000 to 2007, he held the position of creative director for Dior Homme. From 2012 to 2016, he was the creative director for Yves Saint Laurent. Since February 1, 2018, Slimane has been the creative, artistic and image director of Celine.
Adina Fohlin is a Swedish model and photographer. She was discovered while walking down the street in Stockholm, and Susanna Rönn, at Mikas, a Swedish modelling agency. approached her, having noticed her unusual features. Myriam Obadiah, creative director of Fohlin's agency, Next, described her as a girl who does not resemble a typical model.
Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal.
Louise Vava Lucia Henriette Le Bailly de La Falaise, known as Loulou de la Falaise, was an English fashion muse and accessory and jewellery designer associated with Yves Saint Laurent. Author Judith Thurman, writing in The New Yorker magazine, called La Falaise "the quintessential Rive Gauche haute bohémienne".
Maxime Le Bailly, comtesse de La Falaise, was an English-Irish 1950s model, and, in the 1960s, an underground movie actress. She was also a cookery writer and "food maven" as well as a fashion designer for Blousecraft, Chloé and Gérard Pipart. In her later years she pursued a career as a furniture and interior designer.
Paul Deneve is a businessperson working in fashion and technology. In September 2013, he became a vice president at Apple. Before joining Apple, he was CEO of the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), a subsidiary of Kering. Between 1997 and 2013, he managed a number of companies in the luxury sector, including Courreges, Nina Ricci, Lanvin and YSL.
Yves Saint Laurent is a 2014 French biographical drama film directed by Jalil Lespert and co-written with Jacques Fieschi, Jérémie Guez, and Marie-Pierre Huster. The film is based on the life of Yves Saint Laurent from 1958. The film stars Pierre Niney, Guillaume Gallienne, Charlotte Le Bon, Laura Smet, Marie de Villepin, Xavier Lafitte, and Nikolai Kinski.
Saint Laurent is a 2014 French biographical drama film co-written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, and starring Gaspard Ulliel as Yves Saint Laurent, Jérémie Renier as Pierre Bergé, and Louis Garrel as Jacques de Bascher. The supporting cast features Léa Seydoux, Amira Casar, Aymeline Valade, and Helmut Berger. The film centers on Saint Laurent's life from 1967 to 1976, during which time the famed fashion designer was at the peak of his career. The film competed for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was released on 24 September 2014.
Aymeline Valade is a French supermodel and actress.
Anthony Vaccarello is an Belgian-Italian fashion designer. He is the current creative director of Yves Saint Laurent. Prior to this position, he was creative director at Versus Versace. He has also designed his own eponymous line.
Grace Kathleen Hartzel is an American fashion model from Zionsville, Indiana. She was discovered at the age of 15 while dining at a St. Louis Cheesecake Factory with her family. She has walked in nearly every major show during the fall/winter 2015 and spring/summer 2016 shows after being noted as a muse of then-YSL fashion designer Hedi Slimane in the fall/winter 2014 show. Slimane's spring 2014 show was entirely made in Hartzel's image, when she was an unknown.
Micaela "Mica" Argañaraz is an Argentine model and artist. She is best known for being a Chanel and a Versace muse, having been referred to as an it girl and "fashion force to be reckoned with". She is currently ranked as an "Industry Icon" by models.com.
Nastassia Sahara Elizabeth Lindes is an English-American fashion model and musician. She is the face of YSL Beauty.
Victoire Doutreleau is a French former model, who worked extensively for Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.
Marina Schiano was an Italian fashion model, muse, fashion stylist, journalist, photographer and a jewelry designer.
Lucie de la Falaise is a Welsh-born French fashion stylist, former model, and socialite.
