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Coco Chanel was born as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in Saumur, France. Her unwed mother, Jeanne Devolle, was a laundrywoman. Her father, Albert Chanel, was a nomadic street peddler who married her mother a few years after she was born.
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Coco Chanel's mother, Jeanne Devolle, died of tuberculosis. The twelve-year-old Coco, as well as her two sisters, were sent to Aubazine, a Catholic orphanage in Corrèze, France.
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At eighteen, Coco moved Moulins to live in a Catholic boardinghouse for girls. There, she became a seamstress.
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At Moulins, Coco met the wealthy textile heir Étienne Balsan. She became his mistress, and moved with him to his chateau in Royallieu in 1905, when she was twenty-three. While living with him, Coco began designing hats.
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In 1908, Coco became the mistress of Étienne's friend, Captain Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel. He moved her to Paris with him.
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In 1910, Coco became a licensed modiste, or hat maker. She opened her first boutique at 21 rue Cambon, Paris.
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Gabrielle Dorziat, a close friend of Coco, modeled Coco's hats for the plays Bel Ami and Les Modes. Coco became very popular after that.
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Coco opened a boutique in Deauville, France. There, she introduced her first clothing line.
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Coco opened a store, Chanel-Biarritz. She introduced soft, casual clothes made of jersey, a fabric typically used for men's underwear.
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Coco ended her affair with Boy after he became engaged. They remained close friends until his death in late 1918.
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In 1919, Coco was registered as a couturiere by the government of France. She established her maison de couture, or fashion house, at 31 rue Cambon, France.
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Coco, a notable patron of the arts, was introduced by the Russian art critic Sergei Diaghilev to composer Igor Stravinsky. She helped him produce the ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) and began designing costumes dance costumes for the Ballet Russe.
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Coco Chanel's friend, the socialite Vera Bate Lombardi, introduced Coco to British social life. There, she met Hugh Grosvenor, the Second Duke of Westminster. They had an affair that lasted for ten years.
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Coco Chanel made an agreement with the Wertheimer brothers to let them license Chanel perfumes. Coco licensed her name to the corporate entity "Parfums Chanel" and removed herself from involvement. Chanel No. 5 was released that same year by the Wertheimer brothers.
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Hugh Grosvenor gave Coco a large piece of land in Monte Carlo, Monaco. She built a large villa there called La Pausa.
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While living in Monte Carlo, Coco met the film producer Samuel Goldwyn. He offered her 75 million dollars (in today's money) to come to Hollywood twice a year to design costumes for movie stars. She accepted.
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Coco Chanel started using drugs. She injected herself with morphine on a daily basis until she died.
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While she was unsuccessful in America, Coco began designing costumes for French films. In 1939, she designed the costumes for La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game).
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As World War II began, Coco Chanel, an anti-Semtitist, devoted herself to the Nazi cause. She started working as a Nazi spy.
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The Nazis, who were then occupying France, seized all properties and businesses owned by Jews. Forseeing that, the Wertheimers had turned over their business to the French man Felix Amiot. Not knowing that, Coco petitioned the Nazi officers to give her back Parfums Chanel on May 5. Eventually, the Wertheimers and Coco renegotiated their contract and put her in partial control of the business.
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In 1943, Chanel traveled to Germany to devise a way to end British hostilities toward Germany. She recruited her friend Vera Lombardi to help her. However, this mission was unnsuccessful; upon arrival at the British embassy in Madrid, Vera exposed Coco as a Nazi spy.
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Coco Chanel was interrogated by the Free French Purge Committee. However, under pressure from Winston Churchill, who feared Coco would reveal Nazi sympathies in Britain high society, and with no conclusive evidence, they were forced to set her free.
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Coco Chanel moved out of Paris in 1945. She moved to Switzerland, where she stayed for the next nine years.
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In 1954, Coco moved out of Switzerland and back to Paris. There, she established her couture house. Coco was not very well received by the Parisians, who had not forgotten her treachery during World War II, but Coco Chanel became very well known to Americans and Brits. She launched her women's suit collection and her jewelry collection the same year.
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Coco launched her iconic chain-strapped quilted leather handbag in February 1955. Because of its release date, February 1955, it is still called the 2.55 bag today.
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Coco Chanel dies in Paris, France. She is 87 years old.
