Sidonie Gabrielle Colette was born the January 28th, 1873. She was born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye to Eugenie Sidonie Landoys, her mother, and Captain Jules-Joseph Colette, her father. He siblings were Juliet, Leopold and Achilles. She attended a school and received her elementary certificate and primary education degree in 1889. Colette moved to Chatillon-Colligny in 1891, after financial hardships.
May 15th, 1893 Colette married Henri Gauthier-Villars also known as Willy. During their marriage she frequented literary salons and many Parisian musicals. Colette had found out her husband had been cheating on her. So she and Gauthier-Villars split in 1906. The works that came from this period were articles in articles La Cocarde, le Gil Blas, La Vie heureuse, Le Mercure de France, La Vie parisienne, la Revue illustrée, Le Damier, Le Mercure musical, La revue théâtrale, Le Plaisir, Akademos, Comoedia, Fantasio, Paris-Théâtre, Le Nouveau Siècle. Other works including the Claudine series had also come out during this time. Those works were Claudine à l'école, Claudine à Paris, Claudine en ménage, Claudine s’en va, Minne, Gigi, Dialogues de Bêtes, and Mes apprentissages. Mes apprentissages was an autobiography that includes her learning of her husband’s affair.
After leaving her husband, Colette began pantomiming and worked in vaudeville after taken under the wing of Mathilde de Morny otherwise known as Missy. Colette and Missy for a time were romantically involved. In 1907, Rêve d'Égypte was pantomimed by the two at the Moulin Rouge. Colette had many affairs with women. Those women include Natalie Barney, Josephine Baker, and Gabriele D'Annunzio. After her affairs Colette became a journalist for “Le Matin” and December 19th 1912 she married Henry de Jouvenel. In 1923, after Colette in 1920 previously was named Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, Henry de Jouvenel and Colette had separated. Some of the works that came from this period were L'Entrave, Mitsou, Chéri, La Chambre éclairée, Le Blé en herbe, La Fin de Chéri, Contes des mille et un matins, Duo, La Seconde, and Julie de Carneilhan.
Several years later, in 1928, Colette was promoted to officier de la Légion d'honneur. Colette was elected in the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature in Belgium on March 9th, 1935. April 3rd of the same year she married Maurice Goudeket. She travelled to the USA in 1935 and received the title commandeur de la Légion d'honneur en 1936. Works from this period include L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, La Naissance du jour, La Treille muscate, Le Toutounier, and Trois...Six...Neuf.
Colette was elected in 1945 to the l'Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy). She became president of the academy in 1949. As for her title, Colette had become grand officier de la Légion d'honneur. She was distinguished and received medal known as the la médaille du National Institute of Arts. She had also received letter from the Ambassador of the United States, Douglas Dillon.
On the 3rd of August, 1954 Colette passed away in her “Royal Palace” apartment. her funeral was made a national. The works that came from this point in her life time include: Journal à rebours, Paris de ma fenêtre, L'Étoile Vesper, and Le Fanal bleu.
http://www.centre-colette.com/periodes.php
