Global InformationYola Letellier information
Yola Letellier | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Yola Letellier c. 1929 by Man Ray | |
| Born | Yvonne Henriquet 28 June 1904 |
| Died | 5 June 1996 (aged 91) |
| Occupation | Socialite |
| Known for | Inspiration for Gigi by Colette |
| Spouse | Henri Letellier |
| Partner(s) | István Horthy Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma |
Yola Letellier (born Yvonne Henriquet (also spelled Henriquez or Henriques), 28 June 1904 – 5 June 1996)[1][2] was a French socialite and the wife of a newspaper owner.
Yola is widely credited as the model for the main character in Colette's 1944 novella, Gigi.[3][4][5] As such, she became the basis of a 1949 French film in which Gigi was played by Danièle Delorme; a 1951 stage adaptation by Anita Loos, in which Colette cast the as-yet-unknown Audrey Hepburn to play Gigi; and an Academy Award-winning 1958 musical film starring Leslie Caron with a score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.[6]
In the novella, Gigi is a teenager educated to be a French courtesan, to provide companionship and intellectual stimulation as well as sex, who marries an older wealthy man.[7] In real life, Yola married Henri Letellier, 36 years her senior,[8] who was a wealthy investor, owner of Le Journal, a stylish Parisian newspaper, and mayor of Deauville from 1925 to 1928. Letellier's family also owned hotels and casinos in Normandy.[9]
Yola had affairs with other men, including one with Lord Louis Mountbatten, from 1932 until his death in 1979.[10]
- ^ Lownie, Andrew (2019). The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 9781788702577. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Griffen, Mark (2010). A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnelli. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306818936. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Hicks (2014), p. 24
- ^ Tucker, Grant (18 August 2019). "Lord Mountbatten's 'lust for young men' revealed". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Aubenas, Sylvie; Chardin, Virginie; Demange, Xavier (2007). Elegance: The Seeberger Brothers and the Birth of Fashion Photography. Chronicle Books. p. 91. ISBN 9780811859424. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Gigi Times Three". Love Letters to Old Hollywood. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (8 April 2015). "10 Famous Courtesans, from Madame de Pompadour to Gigi". Vogue. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ Hicks (2014), p. 169
- ^ Morgan, Janet P. (1991). Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 227. ISBN 9780002175975. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Lord Mountbatten was "devastated" by his wife's affairs". Irish Central. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.