Ghislaine de Polignac

Princess Ghislaine de Polignac (5 September 1918 – * January 2011) was a prominent member of Paris society, bon vivant, fashion stylist and promoter, and author.

Life

Born Ghislaine Charlotte Claire Brinquant, she was the daughter of Parisian Victor Brinquant and Simone Durand de Villers. In July 1939, she married Prince Edmond Jean Henri Marie de Polignac (2 April 1914 - 13 February 2010) of the famous French noble family. They had two sons and two daughters, before divorcing in November 1946. A court action by the Prince to prevent her subsequently using her title failed, and she remained Princess de Polignac for the remainder of her life.

She subsequently built a career using her extensive contacts to assist society figures, and to create publicity for fashion houses and designers, including Pierre Cardin. In 1952 she became the first fashion stylist of the department store Galeries Lafayette.

Considered vivacious, Baron de Redé called her "a live wire in Paris life. She is certainly a survivor, adapting like a chameleon to the changing times." Her lovers included Duff Cooper when British Ambassador to France who wrote in his diary "She is a girl after my own heart, good company, a formidable appetite for pleasure and no nonsense about love.” In 1947 she created a scandal after being discovered by her wealthy American host Rosita Winston in bed with her husband, property magnate Norman K Winston. In the early 1950s she was the girlfriend of drama critic and novelist Christian Mégret. Her intimate knowledge of the relationship between de Rede and Arturo Lopez enabled Mégret to pen a novel based on them called Danaé, which resulted in her deletion for a time from de Rede's famous guest list. Her last relationship was with the fellow bon vivant Baron Philippe du Pasquier.

In the 1960s, she authored monographs on two historic Parisian mansions. Princess de Polignac died in Paris aged 92 in January 2011.

Works

• L'Hôtel Lambert, Imprimerie Nationale (1964)
• Hôtel des Ambassadeurs de Hollande, Imprimerie Nationale (1968)