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, 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 ...

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

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

s, 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 Lucien Lelong (; 11 October 1889 – 11 May 1958) was a French couturier who was prominent from the 1920s to the 1940s. Career Born in Paris as the son of Arthur Lelong, the owner of a fashion store, he trained at the Hautes Etudes de Commer ...

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 Dupont ...

. 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 Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...

, 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