Coco Chanel

1883 – 1971

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a French fashion designer who founded the Chanel brand and reshaped 20th-century women's fashion with her sportswear silhouettes, the little black dress, and the 1921 perfume Chanel No. 5. During the German occupation of France she lived at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and conducted an affair with Nazi intelligence officer Hans Günther von Dincklage, and in 1941 she attempted to use Nazi anti-Jewish ordinances to seize full control of the Chanel No. 5 perfume business from her Jewish business partners, the Wertheimer family. Released documents have since established that she also operated as Nazi German military intelligence agent F-7124 under the codename "Westminster."

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM