She disguised herself as a soldier to follow Napoleon to Egypt — and ended up becoming his mistress, nicknamed 'Cleopatra' by his troops.
Pauline Fourès was born in 1778 in Pamiers, France, and worked as a milliner before marrying a cavalry soldier named Jean-Noël Fourès. When he was ordered to Egypt, she refused to be left behind.
Rather than wave goodbye, Pauline disguised herself in a Chasseur uniform and smuggled herself aboard the military transport ship. She went undetected for 54 days during the voyage to Egypt.
Once in Egypt, she caught the eye of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Napoleon conveniently dispatched her husband on a mission back to France, then began openly courting her — a scandal that amused and shocked his troops alike.
French soldiers nicknamed her 'Bellilotte' and 'Cleopatra of the Army.' She was one of Napoleon's most openly acknowledged romances, and for a time he reportedly considered making her his official companion.
The affair ended when Napoleon returned to France and later married Joséphine. Pauline remarried twice and eventually settled in Brazil with her second husband, where the couple built a prosperous lumber business.
After returning to Paris in 1837, Pauline reinvented herself as a writer and painter. She published two novels and outlived Napoleon by nearly five decades, dying at the remarkable age of 91 in 1869.
She was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, one of the world's most famous burial grounds, joining a roster that includes Chopin, Molière, and Édith Piaf.