Beautiful But Controversial Women in History

Numerous women have had significant roles in shaping mankind's history. Some of these women were great leaders,

others were wives, mother or sister of great men and some were mistresses of some notable leaders. The list of women

below created a name in history because of their association or relationship with some of the most remarkable men in

history.

1. Countess Marie Walewski

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This beautiful woman was the Countess Marie Walewski (1786 - 1817), a Polish countess, wife of Count Athenasius

Walewski. She became controversial because of his elicit affair to Emperor Napoleon I. Twenty-two years old, Marie

Walewski, blue-eyed and blond, aroused passions. Their affair was passionate. In May 1810 Marie gave Napoleon a

son, Alexandre Walewski, later a distinguished French statesman.

2. Pauline Bellisle Foures

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Another mistress of Napoleon was Pauline Bellisle Foures. He took her as a mistress in retaliation to his wife's (Josephine)

infidelity: Pauline Bellisle Foures was a wife of a junior officer. She became known among his troops as "Napoleon's Cleopatra."

3. Eva Braun

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The story of Eva Braun is short and tragic, but very interesting. She was the mistress of Hitler. Most of her adult life was

kept secret, rarely seen or heard of in public. Most did not even know that she and Hitler were romantically involved until

much closer to the end of their lives since Hitler chose to keep their relationship secret. Hitler and Eva met for the first time

in 1929, when she was just 17. Their love affair lasted for over 15 years.

4. Clara Petacci (Claretta Petacci)

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This pretty woman was an upper class Roman who became Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's mistress. She was

twenty-nine years younger than Mussolini. Petacci was with Mussolini to the end. On April 28, 1945, she and Mussolini

were taken to Mezzagra where she and the Duce were shot. On the following day, Mussolini and Petacci's bodies were

taken to the Piazzale Loreto in Milan and hanged upside down in front of an Esso petrol station. The bodies were

photographed as a crowd vented their rage upon them.

5. Margherita Sarfatti

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Margherita who was born in 1880 and died in 1961 was an Italian journalist, art critic, patron, collector, socialite, and

one of Benito Mussolini's mistresses. She was the daughter of a wealthy Jewish lawyer. In 1911 Margherita Sarfatti met,

and started an affair with, Benito Mussolini. As a highly educated and intellectual woman, she played a significant role in

the rise of fascism, only to be discarded when her lover turned to anti-Semitism, unable to credit a Jewish woman as his

collaborator in the forging of a new, revolutionary ideology. In 1938, Sarfatti left Italy for Argentina. After the war, in 1947,

Sarfatti returned to her home country and once again became an influential force in Italian art.

6. Servilia Caepionis

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Lindsay Duncan in the TV series Rome

She is most famous for being Julius Caesar's mistress. Servilia Caepionis was born in 107 BC and died after 42 BC.

She is one of the few Roman women cited by ancient sources, mainly due to her being the mistress of Julius Caesar.

She was several years older than him but he was very much taken with her and even bought her a priceless black pearl

upon his return from the Gallic Wars. Servilia Caepionis was the half sister of Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger. She

married a fairly insignificant man and her son, Brutus grew up to become one of Julius Caeasar's assassins.

Servilia was a very bold woman and did not behave like a typical Roman mistress. She did not wait around for him.

If she wanted to see Caesar she would make this known to him. Actually, this led to their affair becoming public.

7. Cleopatra VII

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Cleopatra VII the famous Queen of Egypt was Caesar' mistress as was Servilia Caeponis Caesar only biological

son was from Cleopatra named as Caesarion and who ruled Egypt as Ptolemy XV.

8. Aspasia

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Aspasia was a controversial woman in history because of her relationship to Pericles. She was born in 470 BC and

probably died in 400 BC. Aspasia was a Milesian woman who was famous for her involvement with the Athenian states-

man Pericles. She spent most of her adult life in Athens, and she may have influenced Pericles and Athenian politics.

She is mentioned in the writings of Plato, Aristophanes, Xenophon, and other authors of the day. Aspasia had a son by

Pericles, Pericles the Younger, who later became a general in the Athenian military and was executed after the Battle of

Arginusae.

9. Madame de Pompadour

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The glamorous and beautiful Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, marquise de Pompadour was born in 1721 and died in 1764.

She was a well-known courtesan and the famous mistress of King Louis XV of France.

10. Lillie Langtry

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Her real name was Emilie Charlotte Le Breton and was born in 1853 and died in 1929. She was a highly successful

British actress born on the island of Jersey. A renowned beauty, she was nicknamed the "Jersey Lily" and had a number

of prominent lovers, including the King Edward VII.

Hope you enjoyed this. Thank you!

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