Cléo de Mérode, born May 5, 1874 - died September 22, 1966, was a French dancer of the Belle Époque. May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). ... -1...

Cléo de Mérode by Félix Nadar

Born Cléopatra Diane de Mérode in Paris, France, she was the daughter of an Austrian landscape painter. Nicknamed Cléo, at age eight she was sent to study dance and made her professional debut at age eleven. She grew into a beautiful young woman, noted for her tiny waist which was accentuated by tightlacing that was popular with women at the time. Pre 1923 image not subject to copyright This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Pre 1923 image not subject to copyright This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ... Tightlacing (also called corset training and waist training) is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture. ...

Cléo de Mérode became renowned for her glamour even more than for her dancing skills and her image began appearing on such things as postcards and playing cards. A particular new hairdo she choose to wear became the talk of Parisian women and was quickly adopted as a popular style for all. Her fame was such that Alexandre Falguière sculpted The Dancer in her image, which today can be seen in the Musée d'Orsay. In 1895, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec did her portrait, as would Charles Puyo and Alfredo Muller. Seen here, is her picture taken by one of the most illustrious photographers of the day, Félix Nadar. Falguières Victor of the Cockfight, book engraving c. ... The Musée dOrsay is a museum in Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine. ... Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (November 24, 1864 - September 9, 1901) was a French painter. ...

In 1896, King Leopold II attended the ballet and saw Mérode dance. It is said that the 61-year-old Belgian King became enamoured with the 22-year-old ballet star and gossip started that she was his latest mistress. Because the King had had two children with a woman reputed to be a prostitute, Cléo de Mérode's reputation suffered and she had to live with it for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, Cléo de Mérode became an international star, performing across Europe and in the United States. At the peak of her popularity, she chose to dance at the Folies Bergères, taking the risk to do something other elites of the ballet had never done before. Her performance gained her a whole new following. King Leopold II Leopold II, King of the Belgians (Louis Philippe Marie Victor) (April 9, 1835–December 17, 1909), succeeded his father, Leopold I of Belgium, to the Belgian throne in 1865 and remained king until his death. ... The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België, French: Royaume de Belgique, German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. ...

Very popular in her ancestral homeland of Austria as well as in Germany, she appeared in the 1926 German motion picture, Frauen der Leidenschaft. In Vienna her beauty caught the attention of painter Gustav Klimt whose primary focus was on female sexuality. Their story is being told in a film to be released in 2005 titled Klimt. In it, the American actor John Malkovich stars as Gustav Klimt and the French actress Laetitia Casta as Cléo de Mérode. The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ... This article is about the city and federal state in Austria. ... Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 - February 6, 1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. ... John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953 in Christopher, Illinois) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Laetitia Casta - Supermodel. ...

De Mérode continued to dance until her early fifties when she retired to the seaside resort of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France. In 1955 she published her autobiography Le Ballet de ma vie. Biarritz is a town and commune which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on south-west coast of France. ... Pyrénées-Atlantiques ( Gascon: Pirenèus-Atlantics; Basque: Pirinio-Atlantiarrak or Pirinio-Atlantikoak) is a département in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ...

Cléo de Mérode passed away in 1965 and was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. The Cimetière du Père Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris, and one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. ...