  thÃ©rÃ©sa cabarrus, madame tallien (31 july 1773 &ndash; 15 january 1835), was a french social figure during the revolution. later she became princess of chimay.  ==life== ===early life=== she was born juana marÃ­a ignazia teresa de cabarrÃºs y galabert in carabanchel alto, madrid, spain to franÃ§ois cabarrus, a french financier, and marÃ­a antonia galabert, the daughter of a french industrialist based in spain. thÃ©rÃ©sa's father founded and governed the bank of san carlos, which became the royal bank of spain, and was king joseph i of spain's minister of finance. in 1789, he was knighted by king charles iv of spain with the title of count. from 1778 to 1783, thÃ©rÃ©sa was raised by nuns in france. she was a student of the painter jean-baptiste isabey. she returned home to the family castle briefly in 1785, and then her father sent her back to france at twelve years old to complete her education and get married. the first of her many love affairs was with alexandre de laborde; however, the young couple was forced to separate as de laborde's powerful father, jean-joseph de laborde, disapproved of her. cabarrus then arranged for his "very beautiful" daughter to marry a rich, powerful frenchman in order to strengthen his position in france. on february 21, 1788, thÃ©rÃ©sa was married to jean jacques devin fontenay (1762â1817), the last marquis de fontenay, a wealthy aristocrat described as small, red and ugly. the bride was fourteen years old. even though in the 1780s thÃ©rÃ©sa had begun to take an interest in liberalism and the principles of the revolution, she was presented at the court of king louis xvi. the newlyweds visited
1773_births 1835_deaths French_courtesans French_female_salon-holders French_socialites People_from_Madrid People_of_the_French_Revolution Spanish_people_of_French_descent