Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, in 1883, to street vendor, Albert Chanel, and laundrywoman, Eugénie Jeanne Devolle, Coco Chanel had five siblings. The family was very poor and lived in a one-room dwelling in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. Her mother died when she was a child, and while her brothers and sisters were doled out to various family members, Coco wound up at the orphanage of the Catholic monastery of Aubazine.
The religious order the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Mary took care of abandoned and orphaned girls and demanded that they live strict and disciplined lives without many comforts. While it wasn’t the ideal place to come of age, it’s where Chanel learned how to sew and became a seamstress, which would greatly benefit her later in life.
Coco Chanel was a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. But there's much more to learn about this style pioneer outside the designer realm.