La Vie Creative

Send us Fan Mail Jeanne DuVal was the beautiful muse of Charles Baudelaire and would inspire his glowing devotion. The Black Venus and Mistress of Mistresses as he called her is mostly unknown still to this day.  Much of the details of her life are murky due to a fire that would destroy her vital documents.  Jeanne was tall and beautiful and her striking looks got her a role on the stage. Performi...

Send us Fan Mail Hello. I’m French and American, born in the mid-seventies, in April . I was raised in the forest , and spent my childhood either running wild in the woods of Picardie or taking planes to JFK to visit my grandmother. I also played a lot of piano . At that time, I  wanted to be in a musical , but instead I studied political science at Sciences-Po and business at HEC , in Paris. And...

Send us Fan Mail Nélie Jacquemart was an artist and art collector whose love of art remains today and shared with everyone that visits the museums t As a child, her family worked and lived with the wealthy Alphée & Rose de Vatry. Rose formed a special relationship with the young Nélie who had a talent for drawing. Armed with art supplies she started to draw, encouraged by Rose who was also abl...

Send us Fan Mail Tanisha Townsend has cultivated a community of wine enthusiasts through an unyielding passion for Oenology. As Chief Wine Officer of lifestyle agency Girl Meets Glass, Tanisha leads wine classes and tours in Paris (and virtually). Her goal is to empower individuals with advanced knowledge of wine & spirits in order to build confidence in their tastes and make choices as a bett...

Send us Fan Mail The Musée du Louvre and it’s list of amazing art is endless and hard to know where to even start. We will help share a few pieces that you don’t want to miss on your next trip to Paris.  In 1848 Louis Philippe commissioned 20 statues for the Jardin du Luxembourg. He picked each one that went from Queen Berthe to Anne d’Autriche and included Jeanne d’Arc. The Maid of Orleans was sc...

Send us Fan Mail Anna Kloots is a Paris-based American writer and storyteller. But also a photographer, and there is a story behind every shot she takes. She is a true nomad, in the last twelve years she has gone through two passports; living and traveling in over 83 countries across 6 continents. She takes followers inside her life in Paris on her popular Instagram page. https://annakloots.com/ S...

Send us Fan Mail Gabrielle d’Estrées, a woman known more for her risque painting than of her life itself. Gabrielle was born around 1573, and daughter of Antoine d’Estrées, Baron de Boulonnois and Françoise de la Bourdaisieres. She was one of eleven children, seven of which were girls and gave them the moniker “seven deadly sins” by the Marquis de Sevigné. Gabrielle mingled in the court of Henri I...

Send us Fan Mail Yanique Francis is a Paris-based businesswoman. An expert event planner, travel writer, and industry consultant. Francis was born in Jamaica and lived in the USA. She earned her Master's Degree in International Communications and Marketing at Emerson College. Francis founded MyParisianLife, a French Food and lifestyle blog in 2008, which went on to be named one of "best...

Send us Fan Mail The life of Juliette Drouet is closely tied to Victor Hugo, but she wasn’t always his mistress.  Juliette’s beautiful head turning looks was garnering the attention of Paris, especially the men. In a way to help fund her shopping sprees, a life as a courtesan and on the stage fit the bill. Not exactly a natural actor, but her looks got the attention of the producers and audience a...

Send us Fan Mail Heather Stimmler is an American-born journalist and author living in France since 1995. She started the Secrets of Paris newsletter in 1999 as a hobby while working as an editor at ELLE.com in Paris. Over the next 20 years, Secrets of Paris grew into a private tour company and a guidebook publisher. In 2016 Heather became the Global Media Director for the international marine cons...

Send us Fan Mail Marie- Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, aka the Duchesse de Berry was born in Naples the daughter of the Crown Prince Francis Duke of Calabria and Marie Clementine of Austria, niece of Marie Antoinette. At the time of her birth in 1798 Napoleon was charging his way through Italy forcing the family to flee to Palermo and later pushing them into Sisily.  Marie-Caroline found her way to...

Send us Fan Mail Jay Swanson is an author and vlogger over on YouTube where he shares his daily life as an American in Paris, including tips and tricks on visiting and living in the City of Light. His latest book, Sea of the Unknown: Monsters and Mishaps on my Journey to Paris tells the story of how he wound up in Paris, got torn away from it, and managed to fight his way back. It's recently...

Send us Fan Mail It’s a big day today for Paris History Avec A Hemingway podcast! It’s the 50th episode! It also happens to be my birthday and the same number. When trying to decide who we would talk about for this epic episode it was almost impossible. Then it came to me, it had to be about something in my favorite place to spend a day, the Musée du Louvre.  The Louvre is filled with thousands of...

Send us Fan Mail Brandi Sea is an award-winning Creative Director, Design & Brand Strategist, and passionate observer with a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design. In addition to her design talents, she uses her 20 years of experience to help fellow creatives map out a plan to "discover uncommon inspiration" and produce more meaningful work. Brandi believes that every designer des...

Send us Fan Mail Heloise, the name that may ring more of a bell as Heloise and Abelard. A couple is known as the French Romeo & Juliette long before Shakespeare would write the story.  Heloise was born around 1092, it is unsure of her actual birthday and can swing into the 1070s depending on what you read. Heloise would spend most of her childhood raised by her brother and at 11 would be sent...

Send us Fan Mail My name is Camille Roux dit Buisson, I was born and I live in Paris. I grew up surrounded by art, with my parents who were passionate, and especially because my father is an art dealer who started collecting Jacqueline Marval (1866 – 1932)’s work from the 1980s. He took me to Drouot and the Louvre des Antiquaires (where he had a gallery until the 2010s) all the time, which started...

Send us Fan Mail Last week we shared the story of Djuna Barnes and you can’t have Djuna without the story of Natalie Barney,  Natalie was born in October 1876 in Dayton Ohio to a very wealthy family. Raised with an appreciation of art, music, and culture from a very young age they spent weekends in museums and author readings.  One reading while in New York over the summer took a young Natalie and...

Send us Fan Mail Franco-American artist and photographer Kali Vermès started making terrariums to satisfy both her green thumb and creative impulses with one activity. The microcosms she creates, under the moniker, Grow Little , are carefully conceived tiny, verdant worlds. Born in Paris, Kali grew up in an apartment filled with hanging plants. Her Russian photographer grandfather grew pear trees...

Send us Fan Mail Djuna Barnes, the woman who mingled with the Lost Generation was born in 1892 in New York and would leave her mark in Paris.  Born into a rather different family, her father had two wives and would later marry Djuna off to his second wife's brother. Shortly after her mother had too much she took her kids and left for New York. There Djuna began working as a writer for the New...

Send us Fan Mail BIOGRAPHY International award-winning Artist Stephanie MacKenzie is a vibrant talent. Multiple layers,  brilliant colors, and intricate designs unite through storytelling and blended archetypes bringing lush dimensions to her work.    ABSTRACT ART Immerse yourself into a high saturated universe with Artist Stephanie Mackenzie. Intense color and vivid brushstrokes are created throu...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show 🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France  https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail Amy Kupec Larue has been living, working and traveling in Europe for 30 years. Her passion for flowers, plants and the French Art de Vivre led her to a career that beautifully combines her wide knowledge, keen interests and vast experience with gardens. Since 2005 she has been guiding individuals and groups including the Pacific Horticulture Society, the New York Botanical Garden...

Send us Fan Mail Berthe Weill was a French art dealer who played a vital role in the creation of the market for twentieth-century art with the manifestation of the Parisian Avant-Garde. Support the show 🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France  https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail Sonja Bajic is an illustrator and artist well known for her geographical maps, visual identity, and the search for the best in every day and every process. And illustrating that. Living and working in Paris, Sonja believes in sustainability and a better tomorrow and shows this in her work and through her educational activities. She is the author of several books and projects deali...

Send us Fan Mail The list of mistresses of the kings of France is long. For Louis XV, sandwiched between two of the most famous kings might be best known for his many lovers than for the man himself.  After Madame de Pompadour who we have also talked about, Madame du Barry definitely left her mark on Versailles and a very young Marie Antoinette. Jeanne Bécu was born on August 19, 1743, in Vaucoule...