Ginette Spanier

Ginette Spanier Biography

Jenny Yvonne Spanier (1904–1988), known as Ginette, was director of the House of Balmain, a Paris fashion-house, and was decorated for her wartime work.

Early life

Spanier, who was Jewish, was born in Paris on 7 March 1904 and raised in Hampstead, London, England and attended Frognal School there.

War years

While in Paris as a buyer for Fortnum & Mason, she met Paul-Emile Seidmann, a doctor. In 1939, they married. Shortly afterwards, during World War II, they fled Nazi-occupied Paris by bicycle. She was subsequently awarded the Medal of Freedom for assisting the American Army of Liberation. Seidmann was made a for his work with concentration camp survivors.

Balmain

After the war, the couple lived for many years on Paris' Avenue Maurice, and she became ' (director) at Balmain from 1947 to 1976. The first of her two volumes of autobiography, It isn't All Mink (1959), had a foreword by Nol Coward, the second volume, And Now It's Sables (1970), had one by Maurice Chevalier.

She appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 21 June 1965. She was also the guest on This Is Your Life on 9 February 1972.

Death

She retired, a widow, to London, and died there in April 1988.

Bibliography

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ginette_Spanier" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

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