A True Rags to Riches Story
Many people don’t know (and why would they?) that Coco Chanel is a true rag to riches story. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in extreme poverty in France to unwed parents in 1883. When she was 11, her mother died, and she was sent to an orphanage and raised by Catholic nuns.
Source: Pinterest
The orphanage was just as you would expect it to be: bleak, stingy, and strict. Despite the disciplined life, the nuns taught the young girl how to sew. By 18, when she was too old to stay, she got a job as a seamstress. During her free time, she would sing at local cabarets. It was around then that she started going by the name “Coco.”