Frede

Frede (born Suzanne Jeanne Baulé, 8 November 1914 – 13 February 1976) was a French host and manager of cabarets in Paris and Biarritz. Openly lesbian, Frede was the first to allow women to dance together in a classic cabaret. She is known for her relationships with actresses Marlene Dietrich, Zina Rachevsky, Lana Marconi, and María Félix. She has been featured as a character in Patrick Modiano's books.

Biography

Debut at Monocle and meeting with Marlene Dietrich Suzanne Jeanne Baulé was born in Paris on 8 November 1914 to a plumassier and an insurance agent who called her Jeannette. They lived at 19 Rue Labat, in the in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Baulé studied at the École Duperré before starting to work by painting sets at the Folies Bergère. She became a trainer at Le Monocle, a women's nightclub located on in Paris. At this time, she adopted the pseudonym of Frede, as well as male clothing, both of which she would keep throughout her life. One evening in December 1935, at Le Monocle, she met Anaïs Nin. In her diary, Nin describes Frede's "bright" blue eyes, "round face", "little nose", and "soft features".

It was also at Le Monocle that she met Marlene Dietrich in 1936, with whom she had a romantic affair until the war.

World War II Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Frede left Paris and La Silhouette and went on an exodus to Biarritz. These shows attracted many personalities, particularly from the world of cinema: Brigitte Bardot, Arletty, Orson Welles, Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Marlon Brando, Jean Gabin, Françoise Sagan, and Erich von Stroheim.

In 1949, Frede was the first to allow women to dance together in a classical cabaret, although the law prohibited it. Little by little, she changed the atmosphere of Le Carroll's, which became a place for lesbians to meet.

During this period, she maintained relationships with actresses Zina Rachewsky and Lana Marconi, the last wife of Sacha Guitry. "I practically lived with Sacha for four years," said Frede in 1974.

Frede also had a passionate affair with Mexican actress María Félix. The two women met in 1950, and lived together at the Hotel George V. The relationship was captured in a painting made by Leonor Fini of a plant with two flowers; one had the face of Félix and the other Frede's. Despite this, Félix held ownership of the painting Fini made of the two women, and afterwards asked Fini to modify it to erase Frede's face, painting Félix's face over Frede's, resulting in the painting's two flowers both having Felix's face. Frede and her American companion, Miki Leff, created a nightclub also called Le Carroll's, at 12 Rue Sainte-Anne, the site of the former La Vie Parisienne, held before the Second World War by Suzy Solidor, and then picked up by . Here, the patrons included Salvador Dalí, Michèle Morgan, Pauline Carton, Darryl Zanuck, and, once again, Dietrich.

Suffering from leukemia, in September 1970, Frede finally sold this second Carroll's to Fabrice Emaer. She retired to her country house in Mareil-Le-Guyon. Frede died there, attended by Leff, on 13 February 1976.

The France-Soir newspaper wrote in her obituary that "The one who, for civil status, was never more than , must be considered as one of the greatest seducers of her time." She is buried in the cemetery of Mareil-le-Guyon.

Portrayal by Patrick Modiano A woman who always dressed as a man fascinated writer Patrick Modiano, the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature recipient whose mother knew Frede. Modiano portrayed her as a character in his novella [Suspended Sentence] and a drawing representing her illustrates the covers of the first paperback editions. He also mentioned Frede in his autobiography .