Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was born the illegitimate daughter of Albert Chanel who was a traveling salesman. On her birth certificate, there was a mistake which proved detrimental later in her life when biographers tried to trace her history. The misspelling uncovered that her birth certificate had been recorded as Chasnel.

Coco Chanel’s parents did eventually marry later in 1883 and she had two sisters and three brothers. Coco’s mother died and after her death, Coco’s father left them. Coco was left in an orphanage. There, she learned to be a seamstress only to have her skills perfected when she later would visit her family in Moulins.

After she reached the age of eighteen, she was able to enter the Notre Dame boarding school but she didn’t stay. She found work at a local tailor and left to pursue her true interests. She later sang as a cabaret singer at the turn of the twentieth century and it is believed that is where she became known as "Coco".

In 1910, Coco would open up her first shop. She later opened up a boutique in 1913 followed by a couture house in 1915. Her romantic life and the men who crossed into it played a large influential role on her designs.

The Chanel suit that was introduced in 1923 would allow Coco’s company to begin its true road to success. The suit was followed by the little black dress that Coco would design in such a fashion that would far surpass the little black numbers that had been introduced prior to Chanel’s dress.

Coco Chanel called Hotel Ritz Paris her home for more than thirty years. It was widely known that she had an affair with a German officer who arranged for her to stay in the hotel even when the Nazi troops occupied Paris. Later in life, Coco Chanel lived in Switzerland. She is buried in Lausanne.