Who Did What Now – Episode 158

Liane de Pougy – Courtesan, Princess, Nun
Host: Katie Charlwood
Release Date: September 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the extraordinary life of Liane de Pougy: from her origins as Anne Marie Chassaigne, to her dazzling ascent as one of La Belle Époque’s most famous courtesans, her years as a beloved performer and author, her marriage into royalty, and finally her unexpected transformation into a Dominican lay sister. Katie Charlwood approaches Liane’s story with her trademark humor, enthusiasm, and feminist perspective, aiming to “do these people justice” (10:54) and showcase the vivid personalities who shaped cultural history.

Summary & Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Stage: Burlesque & La Belle Époque

• Katie opens with personal context and a defense of the “history harlot” persona, born out of both alliteration and internet misogyny (02:25–06:25).
  • Memorable Quote: “How dare you? I am not a whore, I am a harlot. And so the history harlot was born out of alliteration and spite.” (05:57)
• She outlines the origins and importance of burlesque in 19th-century France, contrasting misconceptions with its true artistry and influence (09:23).
• Lays out the cultural explosion in Paris during La Belle Époque (1871–1914): a period of “freedom, beauty, truth, and love” (11:16), but also shadows of colonialism and conservatism.

2. Liane’s Early Life: Scandal, Survival, and Escape

• Born Anne Marie Chassaigne in 1869, educated in a convent, becomes pregnant at 16 (13:45).
• Marries naval officer Joseph Armand Henri Pourpe; motherhood sits uncomfortably with her, her marriage is abusive (17:16–20:55).
  • Notable Moment: Anne Marie survives being shot by her husband after he catches her with a lover (20:26).
  • Quote: “She says, fuck this for a game of soldiers and decides to leave her husband.” (22:18)
• She leaves her son with his father (due to legal and social constraints), sells a piano, and heads to Paris, entering “the demimonde"—the half world of courtesans, cabaret, and creativity (25:08).

3. Courtesan Life in Paris: Power, Performance, and Prestige

• Fascination with Paris’s courtesans and the line between actress and courtesan: “If you really wanted to be a demi mondaine, you needed charm and intelligence.” (30:28)
• Liane, under the mentorship of Countess Baptiste de la Bigniere (Valtes), transforms herself: name, image, and skills, learning how to thrive in a world where men “bankrupted themselves for a chance to shag a beautiful woman” (34:05).
  • Quote: “She radiated joy... this is when she transformed from Anne Marie Pourpe to Liane de Pougy.” (29:50)
• Regular at hotspots such as Restaurant Maxime, rivalrous with La Belle Otero. Their jewel-wearing one-upmanship displays both wit and flamboyance (37:40).
  • Memorable Anecdote: Liane attends the opera with a bare neck, followed by her maid carrying all her jewels, outshining Otero through understatement (40:28).

4. On Stage and in the Limelight

• Performs at the Folies Bergère; her acting is so bad that Sarah Bernhardt recommends she “keep her pretty mouth shut when on stage” (45:02).
  • Despite this, her image is iconic—so much so that a famous drag queen chooses “Diane de Rougy” as a stage name in tribute (46:18).
• Amasses fans, wealth, and a reputation for business savvy—her likeness sold widely on postcards (48:04).

5. Love Affairs and Literary Life

• Famous for her affair with writer Natalie Clifford Barney, who wooes her in an elaborate page-of-love stunt (49:25).
  • Quote: “You have game if you do that to one of the most famous women in France.” (49:40)
• Liane writes several novels of the “courtesan" genre, giving her protagonists—shockingly for the era—happy endings (54:43).
  • Expresses dismay with previous literary portrayals of courtesans and sets out to “fix it” (54:58).

6. Queer Paris & Women’s Spaces

• Discusses “the dead rat” lesbian bar anecdote and the relative legal and social freedoms for women-loving-women in Belle Époque France (51:28).
• Women’s intellectual salons (“5 o’clocks”) are described as subversive spaces for thought and conversation excluded from male society (53:25).
  • Quote: “Women would talk and they would talk candidly... Because I don’t know if you know this, but women are people too.” (53:55)

7. Princess & Nun: Reinvention and Redemption

• Marries Prince Georges Ghika of Moldovia in 1910, becoming a princess (56:50).
• Experiences much personal loss: the death of her mentor Valtes (57:36) and, in WWI, her estranged son Marc, which profoundly affects her (58:43).
  • Leans into charity and “good works,” especially for disabled orphans at a ruined convent she discovers with her husband (01:03:05).
• After her husband dies in 1945, becomes a tertiary lay Dominican sister—embracing a spiritual life, though without renouncing her wealth outright (01:05:27).
  • Quote: “She becomes Sister Anne Marie. And she is, like, she does really well, right? She is well-liked by the other nuns and Mother Superior. And like, here’s the thing. We all know the woman has charm.” (01:06:00)

8. Reflection and Legacy

• Dies in Lausanne in 1950, buried with the Sisters of Saint Agnes, closing a life that spanned the worlds of sex work, celebrity, royalty, and faith (01:08:07).
• Katie laments the lost stories of burlesque and courtesan stars: “Without people, there isn’t history. And I think it’s a terrible shame to not tell their stories.” (01:09:10)

Notable Quotes & Anecdotes

• “Men bankrupted themselves for the chance, the chance to shag a beautiful woman.” (34:05)
• “Instead of having them suffer and die... she let them have a happy ending, which was so scandalous for the time.” (54:43)
• “She says, fuck this for a game of soldiers and decides to leave her husband.” (22:18)
• “I am not a whore, I am a harlot. And so the history harlot was born out of alliteration and spite.” (05:57)
• “If you come out of Paris in the turn of the century and you don’t have syphilis, good for you. That is a skill and a miracle even.” (01:08:07)

Key Segment Timestamps

• 03:00–06:25 – Host’s intro, “history harlot” persona, social media misogyny
• 09:23–12:30 – La Belle Époque, Parisian background, burlesque origins
• 13:45–23:00 – Liane’s early life: convent, pregnancy, abusive marriage, dramatic escape
• 25:08–34:40 – Entering the Paris demimonde, learning the courtesan craft
• 37:40–40:28 – Rivalry with La Belle Otero: the “bare neck” opera power move
• 45:02–46:18 – Folies Bergère, Sarah Bernhardt’s acting advice, drag tribute
• 49:25–51:28 – Liane’s romance with Natalie Clifford Barney
• 54:00–56:00 – Liane as novelist, redefining the portrayal of courtesans
• 56:50–01:03:05 – Marriage to Prince Georges, personal tragedy, good works
• 01:05:27–01:08:07 – Late life in a religious order, final reflections

Recommendations & Sign-offs

Katie’s recommendations this episode:

• Watch: Moulin Rouge (“I don’t care. Watch Moulin Rouge.” 01:10:18)
• Book: Pretty Things by Liz Goldwyn (“My favourite, favourite book I have ever read about burlesque.” 01:11:11)
• Podcast: Vulgar History with “dear friend Anne” (01:12:10)

Episode Tone & Style

Katie mixes irreverent humor, feminist commentary, vivid historical detail, and personal asides. Her enthusiastic, colloquial style (“smutty,” “burned by spite”) keeps even heavy or tragic subjects feeling alive and approachable. The narrative is peppered with famous and notorious names, memorable set pieces, and modern commentary linking past to present.

In Short

Katie Charlwood delivers an engaging, richly detailed, and refreshingly feminist portrait of Liane de Pougy. Listeners journey with Liane from convent to cabaret, from diamond-studded Parisian rivalries to charitable nunhood, learning not only about a singularly colorful figure—but about the culture and contradictions of her era.

If you love Paris, burlesque, or stories of women remaking their lives, this episode is a must-listen.