Simone de Cavretou

**Simone Élisabeth Marie de Favin du Pont** (née **de Cavretou**; 23 January 1928 – 6 May 2017) was a Maronan beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Marone 1947. She had previously been crowned Miss Yasonne 1946 and Miss Île-de-Marone 1946, and was the third woman from Île-de-Marone to win Miss Marone.

## Early life and education

Cavretou was born on 23 January 1928 in Voujeaucourt to parents Henri (1902–1979) and Bérengère de Cavretou (née *de Nièvre*; 1903–1990). She was descended from the Maronan nobility on both sides of her family, belonging to the House of Cavretou, a wealthy family originally from Oréal department, which was ennobled in 1811. Her father worked as a business executive, while her mother was a homemaker and socialite. Cavretou was the eldest of four children; her younger siblings included Bertrand (1930–2013), Bérénice (1933–1998), and Jean-François (1935–2019).

Cavretou began her education in 1933, attending private, Eurean Catholic schooling for girls in Voujeaucourt. Cavretou graduated from primary school in 1940, and later completed *collège* in 1943. She subsequently enrolled in a *lycée académique* program for girls, studying literature and languages, and graduated with her *baccalauréat* in 1946. After completing her education, Cavretou made her *début* in Maronan high society and became a Voujeaucourt socialite.

## Miss Marone 1947

Cavretou began her pageantry career in February 1946, after registering to compete in Miss Yasonne 1946. She had been inspired to compete in pageantry after reading a story about Gisèle Lafontaine in the newspaper. Upon discovering that she had registered for a beauty pageant, Cavretou's mother was furious as she believed it would reflect poorly on the family; however, she eventually relented after hearing from neighbors and friends that they would support Cavretou in the competition. Cavretou went on to be crowned Miss Yasonne, which qualified her to compete for Miss Île-de-Marone 1946 in October 1946, which she also went on to win.

Cavretou later competed in Miss Marone 1947 in Delmas in December 1946. Cavretou went on to advance into the Top 7, and was ultimately crowned by Lafontaine as Miss Marone 1947, becoming the second Miss Marone titleholder to be elected to her title by public voting. Despite attempts to make the competition fairer and more transparent by selecting its winner with a public vote, Cavretou's victory proved to be controversial as the pageant was held in her home region. Critics alleged that a significant share of the audience were already supporters of Cavretou's, as other contestants would have had more difficulty inviting large amounts of family and friends to attend, and that the audience selected Cavretou as the winner solely because of this. In a January 1947 interview, Cavretou was asked about the criticism surrounding her victory, and claimed that critics were "jealous" and eager to delegitimize her victory due to her upbringing and family background in the Maronan nobility. These comments were widely mocked in the Maronan media, and pageant owner Marco Spagliatti considered dethroning Cavretou, but she later apologized.

During her reign, Cavretou resided in Delmas and worked as a promotional model and brand representative both domestically and internationally for Miss Marone and its sponsors.

## Personal life

Cavretou married Maronan businessman Gérard de Favin du Pont, of the noble House of Favin du Pont, in 1949, following a one-year relationship. The couple was set up by their respective mothers, who were friends. Cavretou and Favin du Pont had two sons: Matthieu (born 1951) and Jacques (born 1954). The family resided in Voujeaucourt.

Favin du Pont died in a boating accident while the family was on vacation in Maronan Naysia in 1995, aged 69.

## Death

In 2015, Cavretou's sons moved her from the family home into a nursing home in Voujeaucourt, due to her ailing health and need for 24-hour assistance. Cavretou later died in the nursing home of natural causes on 6 May 2017, aged 89. At the time of her death, she was also a grandmother and great-grandmother.