Coco Chanel Portrayed by Shirley MacLaine
Lifetime Television Story of Twentieth Century Fashion Icon
Sep 10, 2008
Fashion icon, Coco Chanel will be portrayed by Shirley MacLaine on Lifetime Television in a two part mini series premiering on September 13. From her impoverished upbringing, Chanel rose to great heights in the fashion industry, eventually being named one of the most influential people of the twentieth century. The Lifetime series tells the story of an indomitable woman who changed the silhouette of fashion.
Early Biography of Coco Chanel
According the a biography on the Biography Channel website, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in 1883. She took every woman' prerogative of lying about her age, often claiming that her real birth date was in 1893, cutting ten years off of her age. Chanel was born in a working house in Saumur, France, another fact that she sought to disguise. Chanel often asserted that she was born in Auvergne. When she was six years old, her mother died and her father quickly farmed out their five children to various relatives.
Before launching her fashion empire, Chanel had a brief career as a singer in cafes and concert halls from 1905 to 1908. It was during this period that she adopted the name Coco. Chanel became the mistress of a rich military officer and later,a wealthy English Industrialist. These two men provided patronage and connections that enabled Coco to open her own millinery shop in Paris in 1910.
Time Top 100
Time Magazine named Coco Chanel one of the most influential people of the twentieth century in 1998.
Chanel Collection
Chanel was the first designer to use jersey as a fabric in her mannish styles. Her relaxed, comfortable designs became popular with women who were tired of the corseted and restrictive fashions of previous decades.
Chanel is famous for her signature cardigan jacket, the little black dress and Chanel No. 5. Her contributions to women's style in the twentieth century are legendary. Her work had many styles and phases, including Gypsy skirts, fake jewelry and glittering evening wear with crystal and jet beads.
Chanel was to first designer to produce a namesake perfume, Chanel No. 5, which was released in 1923.
Coco Chanel on Lifetime Television
Coco Chanel premieres on September 13 at 8 PM ET/PT on Lifetime Television. The series stars Shirley MacLaine, Malcolm McDowell and Barbara Bobulova.
- Shirley MacLaine as Chanel in the later years
- Malcolm McDowell as Marc Bouchier, a business associate and confidante of Chanel.
- Barbara Bobulova as Coco Chanel in the early years.
The Lifetime TV website describes Coco Chanel as a rags-to-riches tale that charts the rise of a fashion icon who was hard to love and harder to ignore.
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