Her Husband Put Her Dead Body in Embalming Fluid to Admire Her Forever

The story of the French courtesan la Païva, the gold digger queen

Esther Lachmann alias Thérèse Lachmann, later marquise de Païva and her tiara— Image courtesy of Wikimedia

While most courtesans ended up penniless, this was not the case for Esther Lachmann. Born on May 7th, 1819, in Moscow, Russia, Lachmann was the most famous courtesan of her time. Also known as La Païva, she was the daughter of Martin Lachmann and Anna Amalie Klein. Her parents were German and Polish Jews and she grew up in an impoverished household.

Early life

Lachmann went on to marry her first husband, Antoine François Hyacinthe Villoing, in 1836. Villoing was a tailor, and the couple welcomed their only son together, Antoine Jr, in 1837.

Lachmann didn’t divorce her husband but, instead, ran away from him and their son to Paris and adopted the name, Therese. She stayed in a cheap hotel, Maison de Passe, during her first few years in the city. Maison de Passe was a well-known home for prostitutes where mainly low-class men spent their time.

Determined to make it to the top lavish life, Lachmann moved to Germany in 1841. She stayed in Bad Ems, which was a spa town. Additionally, she borrowed clothing in order to maintain a wealthy look.