Clémentine Delait: a woman like any other
Born on March , 1865, in Chamouzey near Epinal , Clémentine Clattaux helped her parents in the fields for many years. She became Clémentine Delait when she married Joseph Delait on April 27, 1885. At the age of 20, she settled with her husband, a baker, in Thaon les Vosges. Her husband's health problems (rheumatism) forced the couple to stop baking. The Delaits open a café in Thaon to help themselves. A nice couple, with a funny wife who has the necessary repartee to calm down the sometimes boisterous customers. It has to be said that, in addition to being a strong-willed woman, Clémentine is well-built, so you don't have to look too hard for her. With a good atmosphere, the café becomes quite popular. Especially as Clémentine has something extra...
Clémentine's hypertrichosis
The bearded lady.Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com By Scherr - https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0048557ER.html, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33733688
At a very young age, Clémentine had a lot of body hair. She's even known as one of the few women who shave. Her shaved beard is an object of curiosity for the bakery's customers. In fact, Clémentine suffers from hypertrichosis. This hormonal disorder causes women to grow beards. That said, since she shaves, no one knows if she'd really be bearded otherwise. It's a visit to Nancy and a customer's remark that changes everything and, in the process, Clémentine's life.
Clementine Delait bearded woman following a bet
A few years after her bet, Clémentine, still elegant, is famous: photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com via limédia.fr
In 1901 , Clémentine was 36 when she visited the famous Nancy Fair. At this fair, in addition to merchants and rides, it was customary to show "human curiosities". A bearded woman amazes the Lorraine crowd, and Clémentine recounts her wanderings in Nancy on her return to the counter of her café in Thaon les Vosges a few days later. It was then that a customer made her a bet: he'd give her 500 francs (a handsome sum at the time) to stop shaving, so that we'd know what shape and size her beard might be if she stopped shaving. The bet paid off! And the beard grows...
A beautiful curly black beard.
Clementine's beard soon grew and she unfurled several beautiful centimeters of curly hair . Her long dresses (she's very coquettish), her impeccably tight chignon and that beard make her quite famous.
Clémentine in front of her café in Thaon les Vosges.
Clémentine Delait, the famous bearded lady
Now very famous, Clémentine was often solicited by the photographers of the day, who paid her to take photos of her for sale at fairs or in the press. She was always very well dressed , and liked to be accompanied by her parrot in the shots. The "café de la femme à barbe" is packed every day, and she signs autographs even on the street. As beards are considered the exclusive attribute of men, the bearded lady obtains official permission from the authorities to keep this typicallymasculine beard, even though women are forbidden to wear men's outfits.
Clémentine, always very elegant, also has a flair for marketing.She always finds original poses or ways of being photographed, as here in front of an airplane. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: By Homeyer et Ehret (Epinal). Printer - Limédia galeries, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115956522
Clémentine was much in demand, particularly among the greatand the good, those who were visiting the Vosges, such as the Shah of Persia, who stayed at Vittel in 1920, or those who invited her, such as the Prince of Wales, whom she met in London . As much as she wanted to make the most of her fame, she didn't want to be taken advantage of, and it was only natural thatshe shouldturn down offers from the world-famous Phineas Barnum, head of the American circus of the same name. Barnum's offer was enormous: several million francs at the time, but Clémentine didn't want to be exhibited like a fairground animal, and she knew Barnum's way of dealing with the "human curiosities" he produced in his show. So she rejects the proposition outright. It has to be said that she doesn't need to go out in front of the public; the public comes to her from all over Europe in her Vosges café .
A good woman with a beard
Clémentine Delait has many human qualities. She has a good sense of humor, a good repartee, and she knows how to be generous, as when she adopted a 5-year-old war orphan after the First World War. In fact, she went to the front several times in 1914-1918. The trenches were not far from her home, to encourage the "poilus", the French soldiers in the trenches. She was loved by the troops, who appreciated her art of not taking herself too seriously.
La femme à Barbe in 1914. image chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: cliché Homeyer et Ehret (Epinal). Printer - Limédia galeries, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116144093
Clémentine Delait died on April 19, 1939 in Epinal. Her tombstone in Thaon les Vosges reads"ci git Clémentine Delait : la femme à barbe".
