Lantelme, Geneviève

ACTOR, COURTESAN, SOCIALITE (FRANCE)
BORN 20 May 1883, Paris - DIED 25 Jul 1911, River Rhine
BIRTH NAME Fossey, Mathilde Nortense Claire
CAUSE OF DEATH drowned
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (Division 94 (formerly in Division 89, Edwards Mausoleum))

Geneviève was the daughter of the keeper of a brothel. Under the name of Mademoiselle Lantelme she became a popular actress and was considered to be the most beautiful woman of Paris by many. In 1909 she married her lover Alfred Charles Edwards.

During a trip with his yacht on the Rhine she fell in the river under mysterious circumstances. At the time there were speculations that her husband had pushed her because she wanted to leave him. Her body was discovered a few days later in the water.

She was buried at Père Lachaise in the Edwards Mausoleum. A few months later, on 22 Dec 1912, her tomb was opened by grave robbers who were looking for the jewels that were buried with her. The jewels were in an envelope under her head but they didn't find them. After this incident she was reburied in Division 94. Edwards was buried in the mausoleum after his death in 1914.

Family
• Husband: Edwards, Alfred Charles (1909-1911, Rouen)

Related persons
• was painted by Boldini, Giovanni

Images

The grave of Alfred Charles Edwards at Père Lachaise, Paris.
Picture by Androom (24 Oct 2014)

 

Sources
• Kemps, Rob, Hemel op aarde, De mooiste verhalen over Père Lachaise, de beroemde begraafplaats in Parijs, Meulenhoff, Amsterdam, 2023
Geneviève Lantelme - Wikipedia (EN)


Lanzlott, Rosa

Published: 15 Nov 2014
Last update: 20 Sep 2024