Julie-Justine Pilloy, known as Alice Ozy, went on the boulevard stage young before becoming one of the great courtesans of the Second Empire, kept by the Duc d'Aumale. Chassériau painted her, Gautier devoted verses to her. Retired early and wealthy, she bequeathed a collection of drawings.
The story
Julie-Justine Pilloy, known as Alice Ozy, was born in Paris in 1820. She went on the boards very young and became one of the noticed actresses of the boulevard, without the theatre ever quite being her trade.
Her beauty did the rest. She was one of the great courtesans of her day, kept by the Duc d'Aumale, son of Louis-Philippe, and by some of the richest men in Paris.
Above all she was a model: the painter Théodore Chassériau drew and painted her at length, and Théophile Gautier — who loved her — gave her verses. Romantic Paris watched her pass through its pictures as through its books.
She retired early, with money, and became a collector: drawings, paintings, objects. It was a second life, quieter, and the history of art inherited it.
She died in 1893 and lies in Division 89 — the one that holds Oscar Wilde's tomb, Bertillon's stele and the Chaptal vault. Her collection was bequeathed and dispersed among several institutions.
On site, do not miss
A grave of which no description is documented to date: to be sought in Division 89, that of Oscar Wilde.
Visitors' questions
Where is Alice Ozy's grave?
In Division 89, in the upper eastern part of the cemetery — the Division of Oscar Wilde's tomb, Alphonse Bertillon's stele and the Chaptal family vault.
Oscar WildeWho was Alice Ozy?
Born Julie-Justine Pilloy in 1820, a boulevard actress who became one of the great courtesans of the century, kept most notably by the Duke of Aumale, son of Louis-Philippe. She was also a painter's model and a collector.
Cléo de MérodeWhat was her connection with Théophile Gautier?
He loved her and wrote verses for her. She was also the model of the painter Théodore Chassériau, who drew and painted her at length: Romantic Paris watches her pass through its canvases as through its books.
Jane AvrilWhat did she do with her fortune?
She retired early and spent it building a collection of drawings, paintings and objects — a quieter second life, which art history inherited after her death in 1893.
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