Camille du Gast

Who is Camille du Gast?

Camille du Gast, Marie Marthe Camille Desinge du Gast, Camille Crespin du Gast,. Camille du Gast was one of a trio of pioneering French female celebrities of the Belle Epoque, together with Hélène de Rothschild and Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart the, She was known as one of the richest and most accomplished widows in France, being a balloonist, a parachute jumper, an accomplished sportswoman, fencer, tobogganist, skier, rifle and pistol shot, horse trainer, concert pianist and singer. She was the second woman to compete in an international motor race.

In France she later became renowned for her extensive charity work. She was president of the 'Société protectrice des animaux' until her death, and her campaign against bull-fighting included disruptive direct action protests. She provided health-care to disadvantaged women and children in Paris, and continued whilst under German occupation in World War II.

Her quixotic character, pugnacity, ambition and daring plus her feminist pioneering meant that she was both admired and detested in equal measure. Her social drive, connections and independent financial status attracted jealousy, misogynist outbursts and gossip. She was the central figure in the Parisian scandal of La Femme au Masque where she was maliciously but mistakenly named as the nude model in a notorious painting by Henri Gervex. This salacious story involved three court cases, and was reported around the world.