Photo: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0

Coco Chanel

1883 – 1971 · died at about 88^[1][2]

Business & Industry

Fun Facts About Coco Chanel

• Coco Chanel got her nickname while singing in a cabaret, often the song "Who Has Seen Coco?", though she liked to say her father gave it to her.^[1]
• Chanel took Igor Stravinsky's family into her home and anonymously guaranteed a 1920 production of The Rite of Spring with a gift said to be 300,000 francs.^[1][3][4]
• Chanel accepted Samuel Goldwyn's offer of a million dollars to design for his Hollywood stars, but she came to call Hollywood "the capital of bad taste."^[1]
• Chanel helped make suntans fashionable. Before, a tan marked a laborer and "a milky skin seemed a sure sign of aristocracy."^[1]
• Chanel No. 5 became a pop culture legend when Marilyn Monroe said she wore nothing to bed but Chanel No. 5.^[1][5][6]
• Declassified French police documents on Chanel list her pseudonym as "Westminster" and her agent reference as F 7124.^[1]
• Coco Chanel was alive at the same time as Michael Schumacher — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1969–1971).^[1][2][7][8]
• Coco Chanel shares a birthday with Bill Clinton: both were born on August 19.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post–World War I era with popularising a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. She is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel extended her influence beyond couture clothing into jewellery, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product, and Chanel herself designed her famed interlocked-CC monogram, which has been in use since the 1920s.^[1]

Contemporaries

Pablo Picasso

88 yr overlap

Igor Stravinsky

88 yr overlap

Harry S. Truman

87 yr overlap

Bertrand Russell

87 yr overlap

Lise Meitner

85 yr overlap

Helen Keller

85 yr overlap

Georgia O'Keeffe

84 yr overlap

Chiang Kai-shek

84 yr overlap

Winston Churchill

82 yr overlap

Charlie Chaplin

82 yr overlap

Albert Schweitzer

82 yr overlap

Agatha Christie

81 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Coco Chanel

When was Coco Chanel born?

Coco Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, and died on January 10, 1971.

How old was Coco Chanel at death?

Coco Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, and died on January 10, 1971, at age 87.

What was Coco Chanel known for?

Coco Chanel was known for: Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5. Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post–World War I era with popularising a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. She is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel extended her influence beyond couture clothing into jewellery, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product, and Chanel herself designed her famed interlocked-CC monogram, which has been in use since the 1920s.

Who was alive at the same time as Coco Chanel?

Coco Chanel's closest contemporary was Pablo Picasso. Their lives overlapped for 88 years.