Simone Micheline Bodin (8 May 1925 – 3 March 2015), known professionally as Bettina or Bettina Graziani, was a French fashion model of the 1940s and 1950s and an early muse to the fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. She was a designer of knitwear and, later, a poet and composer.

Biography

Born in France, Simone Micheline Bodin was described as "a freckle-faced rail worker's daughter from Brittany" before becoming a model. She was renamed and recreated by

Jacques Fath Jacques Fath (6 September 1912 in Maisons-Laffitte, France – 13 November 1954 in Paris, France) was a French fashion designer who was considered one of the three dominant influences on postwar haute couture, the others being Christian Dior and ...

, who told her "We already have a Simone; you look to me like a Bettina." Bodin was invited by

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

to join his fashion house which she refused, choosing instead to work for Fath. Bodin became one of the century's first supermodels, rivalled in the 1940s only by

Barbara Goalen Barbara Goalen (1 January 1921 – 16 June 2002) was a British model who came to international prominence between 1945 and 1954, then gave up her career at the height of her success. Described as "the most photographed woman in Britain" and "argu ...

. She was associated with Lucien Lelong and Jacques Fath, but most importantly with Hubert de Givenchy, for whom she worked as a model and press agent. Givenchy named his first collection, which debuted in 1952, after her. One of his designs, the Byronesque "Bettina blouse", became a fashion icon in the early 1950s and inspired the bottle for the best-selling Givenchy perfume

Amarige Amarige is a perfume produced by French fashion house Givenchy. Amarige was introduced in 1991, created by perfumer Dominique Ropion Dominique Ropion (; born 1955) is a French master perfumer. Born in Paris, he trained at Roure Bertrand Dupon ...

. After a short marriage to Gilbert "Benno" Graziani (1922–2018), a French photographer and reporter, she became the companion of Peter Viertel, the American screenwriter. Later she was the fiancée of Prince Aly Khan, who briefly was the United Nations ambassador from Pakistan. She retired from modeling in 1955, after meeting Aly Khan. In 1960, Bettina, then pregnant with their child, survived the car accident that took the life of the prince; the shock of the accident later resulted in a miscarriage. After Khan's death, Bettina wrote the autobiography ''Bettina par Bettina''. She died at age 89 in 2015.Bettina Graziani
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graziani, Bettina 1925 births 2015 deaths French female models Models from Paris Place of birth missing