Marcy Cody (born June 11, 1902) (born Marcy Marie Cody) was born in the Montmartre district of Paris. Her origins are questionable, and it is rumoured that a streetwalker was her mother, while the father may have been any one of a number of day labourers that frequented the district at night. She led a relatively normal childhood in spite of her unfortunate upbringing. Discovered singing on a streetcorner for loose change and swept away to be groomed as the white Josephine Baker, Madame Marcella soon became a household name throughout Europe.
She performed in the fabled dance halls and venues of the day, such as the Moulin Rouge. It is rumoured that she was painted by Picasso, although this has never been proven. She was close friend and contemporary to Anaïs Nin, Isadora Duncan, Kiki de Montparnasse and Henry Miller, among others. Sadly her best works were lost in the Great Warehouse Fire of 1943 during a raid on London.
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