Juliette Drouet

French actress, memorable in history as the mistress of the immortal writer, Victor Hugo. One of his reasons for writing plays was to provide parts for her. Juliette Drouet become his mistress in 1833 and was his companion for the rest of her life. Hugo was a lusty man and Juliette was not his only mistress, but she was his most faithful. An outspoken political opponent of Napoleon III, he fled into exile in Brussels in 1851. In 1852 he moved to the Channel Islands where he wrote several major works of poetry and "Les Miserable." Hugo returned to Paris in 1870 after the fall of the Empire. He was one of the most famous men in the world at that time and was a millionaire when he died. Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele Foucher, in 1822 and fathered four children. His daughter Adele went insane after being abandoned by a lover and daughter Leopoldine was drowned while boating on the Seine. His wife died in 1868 and Juliette Drouet moved into his home. She remained with him until she died in his arms in Paris on 5/11/1883 of stomach cancer. Hugo never recovered from the loss and died, himself, two years later. Link to Wikipedia biography