GABRIELLE

Coco Chanel’s Christian name was Gabrielle. Born in Saumur on August 19, 1883, to parents Eugénie Jeanne Dévolles and Henri-Albert Chasnel, she was the second child in a family of six children: Julia-Berthe, Alphonse, Antoinette, Lucien and Augustin. She raised Julia-Berthe's son as if he were her own child and later was equally protective of his daughter, her great-niece and goddaughter, also named Gabrielle. She always carried a photo of her about her person.