The actress was the illegitimate child of a courtesan; in her day all actresses were generally considered demimondaines.
Internally, their lifestyle was an eclectic mixture of sharp business acumen, social skills, and.
The opera, in turn, was inspired by 's ; , the heroine of the book and subsequent play, was based on , 1840s Paris courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent men, including Dumas.