La Goulue

About La Goulue

Louise Weber (better known as "La Goulue" or "The Glutton"), was an iconic French dancer who became known as the "Queen of the Cancan" and the highest-paid star of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris.

She earned her famous nickname during her adolescence because of her habit of cheekily downing customers' drinks while dancing past their tables. Known for her fierce, provocative routines and sharp tongue, she fundamentally transformed the "chahut" (an early form of the cancan) by kicking off men's hats with her toes and flashing the embroidered hearts on her undergarments.

When the Moulin Rouge opened its doors in 1889, Weber became its permanent star attraction, and with her signature look - a high topknot bun - and stage presence, she quickly became one of the muses of post-impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as he immortalized her in numerous sketches, paintings, and the famous 1891 promotional posters that came to define Belle Époque Paris.

In 1895, at the peak of her popularity and wealth, Weber decided to leave the Moulin Rouge to pursue a solo career on the traveling fairground circuit, as a lion tamer and animal trainer, however, this venture was a financial disaster. Plagued by personal tragedy, including the death of her son, and severe alcoholism, she lost her fortune and her health.

In her final years, she returned to the streets of Montmartre, selling peanuts, matches, and cigarettes outside the very theaters where she had once danced and found success. She died destitute in 1929 at the age of 62.