10 Famous Courtesans, from Madame de Pompadour to Gigi Inline

  • The Marquise de Pompadour ca 1758.
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    Photo: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
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    The Marquise de Pompadour, circa 1758

  • Sarah Bernhardt 1860
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    Photo: CAP/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
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    Sarah Bernhardt, 1860

  • Nana 1877 by Édouard Manet
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    Photo: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
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    Nana, 1877, by Édouard Manet

  • Lola Montes circa 1860
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    Photo: DeAgostini/Getty Images
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    Lola Montes, circa 1860

  • Cleo de Merode 1901 by Giovanni Boldini
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    Photo: Mary Evans Picture Library/Everett Collection
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    Cleo de Merode, 1901, by Giovanni Boldini

  • Mata Hari circa 1905
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    Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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    Mata Hari, circa 1905

  • La Belle Otero circa 1907
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    Photo: Ullstein Bild via Getty Images
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    La Belle Otero, circa 1907

  • Leslie Caron as Gigi 1957
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    Photo: Francois Pages/Paris Match via Getty Images
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    Leslie Caron as Gigi, 1957

  • Onella Muti as Odette de Crecy
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    Photo: © Orion/Courtesy Everett Collection
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    Onella Muti as Odette de Crecy in Swann in Love, 1984

  • Nicole Kidman as Satine
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    Photo: Steven Meisel, Vogue, September 2004
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    Nicole Kidman as Satine