Montez, Lola

Montez, Lola
orig. Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert

born 1818, Limerick, Ire.
died Jan. 17, 1861, New York, N.Y., U.S.

Irish adventuress and dancer who achieved notoriety as the mistress of King Louis I of Bavaria.

After a few dance lessons in Spain, she toured Europe, billing herself as a Spanish dancer. While in Munich in 1846, she became Louis's mistress and influenced him toward supporting liberal and anti-Jesuit policies. Her power over the king provoked angry reactions in the government in 1848, forcing her to flee and causing his abdication. After further tours, she settled in New York City.

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▪ Irish dancer
original name  Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert 
born 1818, Limerick, Ire.
died Jan. 17, 1861, New York, N.Y., U.S.
 Irish adventuress and “Spanish” dancer who achieved international notoriety through her liaison with King Louis I (Ludwig I) of Bavaria.

      Marie Gilbert spent much of her girlhood in India but was educated in Scotland and England. At age 19 she eloped with Lieutenant Thomas James; the couple separated five years later, and in 1843 Gilbert launched a career as a dancer. Her London debut in June as “Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer” was disrupted when she was recognized as Mrs. James. The fiasco would probably have ended the career of anyone less beautiful and determined, but Montez received additional dancing engagements throughout Europe. During her travels she reputedly formed liaisons with Franz Liszt (Liszt, Franz) and Alexandre Dumas (Dumas, Alexandre, père), among many others.

      Late in 1846 Montez danced in Munich, and Louis I of Bavaria was so struck by her beauty that he offered her a castle. She accepted, became Baroness Rosenthal and Countess of Lansfeld, and remained as his mistress. Under Montez's influence (the cabinet became known as the “Lolaministerium”), Louis inaugurated liberal and anti-Jesuit governmental policies, but his infatuation with her helped to bring about the collapse of his regime in the revolution of 1848. In March of that year Louis abdicated in favour of his son. Montez fled to London, where in 1849 she married Lieutenant George Heald, although she had never been divorced from James. Heald later left her.

      From 1851 to 1853 Montez performed in the United States. Her third marriage, to Patrick P. Hull of San Francisco in 1853, ended in divorce soon after she moved to Grass Valley, California. There, among other amusements, she coached young Lotta Crabtree (Crabtree, Lotta) in singing and dancing. Montez settled in New York City after an unsuccessful tour of Australia (1855–56) and gathered a following as a lecturer on such topics as fashion, gallantry, and beautiful women. An apparently genuine religious conversion led her to take up various personal philanthropies.

      Montez published Anecdotes of Love; Being a True Account of the Most Remarkable Events Connected with the History of Love; in All Ages and among All Nations (1858), The Arts of Beauty, or, Secrets of a Lady's Toilet with Hints to Gentlemen on the Art of Fascination (1858), and Lectures of Lola Montez, Including Her Autobiography (1858). The international notoriety of her heyday persisted long after her death and inspired numerous literary and balletic allusions.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Montez,Lola — Mon·tez (mŏnʹtĕz, mŏn tĕzʹ), Lola. Originally Marie Gilbert. 1818 1861. Irish born American dancer noted for her love affairs with Liszt, Dumas père, and Ludwig I (1786 1868), king of Bavaria. * * * …   Universalium

  • Montez, Lola —    Reproductions: Hot bath; 1847; Brusendorff, 1965b: n.p. [B]. Lust; Brusendorff, 1965b: n.p. [B]. Punishment; Brusendorff, 1965b: n.p. [B] …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Montez, Lola — orig. Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert (1818, Limerick, Irlanda–17 ene. 1861, Nueva York, N.Y., EE.UU.). Aventurera y bailarina irlandesa que alcanzó notoriedad por ser amante del rey Luis I de Baviera. Después de haber tomado unas pocas… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • MONTEZ, LOLA —    an adventuress of Spanish descent, born at Limerick; contracted no end of marriages, which were broken off one after another; took to the stage; took to lecturing, and ended in trying to reclaim fallen women (1818 1861) …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Lola Montes — Lola Montez, Portrait von Joseph Karl Stieler Lola Montez; Daguerreotypie von 1851 Elizabeth Rosanna Gil …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lola Montez — Lola Montez, Porträt von Joseph Karl Stieler in der Schönheitengalerie in Schloss Nymphenburg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lola Montez — Nombre …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lola Montes — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Lola Montes, cuyo verdadero nombre era María Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert (17 de febrero de 1821 17 de enero de 1861), fue una bailarina y una actriz nacida en Irlanda que se hizo célebre como bailarina exótica,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Montez — Montez, Lola, eine durch ihre Abenteuer bekannte Tänzerin, geb. 1820 zu Montrose in Schottland, gest. 30. Juni 1861 in New York, war die illegitime Tochter eines schottischen Offiziers, namens Gilbert, und einer Kreolin, wurde in Bath erzogen und …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Montez — (izg. montȇz), Lola (1818 1861) DEFINICIJA britanska plesačica, kći Škota i Kreolke, ljubavnica bavarskog kralja Ludwiga I, proglašena groficom; prognana 1848, živjela je od 1852. u Sjevernoj Americi; spominju je i neki naši pisci …   Hrvatski jezični portal

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