Known as L'Inconnue (The Unknown), her body was recovered from the River Seine after an apparent suicide. No one recognised her and the girl was transported to the Paris mortuary and put on display alongside the bodies of other unknown dead for identification purposes. Thought to be about 16 years old, the girl got her nickname as no one came forward to identify her. Many would wander past the window of bodies in 19th century Paris and try to identify the bodies in there, in what was apparently a popular pastime, but nobody recognised the girl. She did, however, attract plenty of attention: her serene appearance and apparent smile turning plenty of heads. The story goes that one attendant at the mortuary was so transfixed by her that he ordered a plaster cast to be made of her face. The mask became a hit.