Coco Chanel was bisexual, a new book claimsA new biography of the fashion designer Coco Chanel claims she was bisexual and took drugs.
Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life by Lisa Chaney says the style legend had a number of affairs with men and women, including a relationship with the artist Salvador Dali while he was married.
The book also claims that Chanel, who died in 1971, used opiates and slept with a German spy.
A Penguin summary of the book says: “Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend.
“Drawing on newly discovered love letters and other records, Chaney’s controversial book reveals the truth about Chanel’s drug habit and lesbian affairs.”
Several biopics of the designer have been released in the past few years, including Coco Before Chanel and Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky.
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