Member of 18th Century French Court. She gained a place in history with her relationship with Louis XV of France. Born Jeanne-Antionette Poisson, her father abandoned the family in 1725, when she was four, to escape his creditors. When she was nine years old, her mother took her to a fortune teller and was told that one day she would become the mistress of a king. Her mother insisted on giving her the best education because of her belief that she would marry a rich man. When she reached the age of marriage, an arrangement was made by Normant de Tornehem for her to marry his nephew, Charles Guillaume le Normant d'Etoiles. In 1741 the couple married, and in 1744 she gave birth to a daughter, Alexandrine. With goals of climbing into society, she began to plan ways to gain access into the most exclusive social circles. She began to entertain a great deal of men like Voltaire and Montesquieu in her chateau d'Etoiles. Within a short time, her name was known all throughout Paris and even by the King himself. After the 1744 death of the Duchess de Chateauroux, the mistress of King Louis XV, she got a chance to become the King's mistress. On September 15, 1745, she was legally separated from her husband and she was pronounced Madame de Pompadour, the King's official mistress, a legal status in this era. She was very successful in finding ways to amuse and entertain the King. Known as a patron of the arts and literature, Madame de Pompadour is credited with the creation of 52 engraved prints. She had a huge library of thousands of books and had given her patronage to the writer Voltaire. She was also very successful in her artistic creations. Appreciating architect, she planned the building of the Palace of Compiegne and the Petit Trianon Palace at Versailles. Madame de Pompadour did not stay the King's mistress for long, in fact she stayed the king's lover for only five years. On October 12, 1752 the King made her a duchess, the greatest favor he could bestow on her. Her health was declining after having three miscarriages and a host of respiratory problems, probably tuberculosis. Nevertheless, she stayed a true and influential friend of the King until her death in 1764. Her final resting place is next to her daughter, who died at age 9, in the Couvent des Capucine, yet the actual site was reportedly said to have been lost in 1806 to make way for a road and her burial is estimated to be located under the sidewalk at #3 Rue de la Paix.