‘Lady in the hat’: Miss France diva Genevieve de Fontenay dead at 90

Genevieve de Fontenay, who embodied France's idea of feminine chic for decades at the helm of the Miss France pageant before falling out of step with modern views on women and gender, has died, her family said Wednesday, Aug. 2. She was 90. Known as "the lady in the hat" because she was rarely seen without one, De Fontenay joined the Miss France committee in 1954, and in 1981 became its president, a job she held for more than 25 years. During her reign, the former model for the Balenciaga fashion house turned the national beauty pageant into a company, sold parts of the business to enhance its exposure, and put it on track for commercial and TV success. Her trademark brimmed...

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