Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on August 19, 1883 to Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle, a merchant and laundress at the time of her birth. Gabrielle was the Chanels' second daughter. She had five brothers and sisters, her two sisters Julie and Antoinette and her 3 brothers Alphonse, Lucien and Augustin. “Chanel rarely spoke of the circumstances of her birth, but she occasionally spoke of a train journey her mother had taken just before, in search of the elusive Albert.” (Picardie 15). Chanel claimed that her mother was clothed and no one could tell if her mother was pregnant or not. When the passengers recognized that she was pregnant, they took her to their house and sent for a doctor. When the doctor arrived, they took Devolle to the hospital where Chanel was later born. At birth, she was baptized and given the name Gabrielle Bonheur. The name was given by a nun who worked at the hospital and who also became his godmother. When she was 5, Chanel's mother became ill and she and her sisters were taken to her uncle's house to stay. Chanel over-explained that her mother died of tuberculosis, but Devolle actually died of poverty, pregnancy, and pneumonia. Chanel was placed in a Catholic orphanage by her father who later left the family behind. She was raised by nuns who taught her to sew and would later lead her to her life's work. There was no future; for a poor girl raised in an orphanage but the dream came true at a young age. She began working with her sister at a milliner in Deauville. Throughout her glamorous and luxurious life, she never mentioned to the world her upbringing and the trials that life brought her. She has repeatedly erased all saddened traces from the middle of the paper of the spring collection. She died on Sunday, January 10, at the Ritz Hotel where she had resided for more than thirty years. That afternoon she had taken a long drive and, not feeling well, had gone to bed early. Today, her elegance and confidence live on through her collections. Its elegance continues in Paris as in the United States. Chanel's style will forever be celebrated around the world; she was a fashion icon, a lady of luxury and a fashion goddess.Works CitedNotes1. Justine Picardie, “CoCo Chanel: The Legend and the Life” (2010)2. Karen Karbo, “The Gospel According to Coco Chanel” (2009)3. A&E Television Networks (2008)4. Pierre Galante “The Chanel Years” (1972)5. Interview with Samuel Goldwyn in the New York Times (1932)6. Interview with Samuel Goldwyn in Colliers magazine (1931)7. Life review (1954)