Agnès Astier

**Agnès Astier Montbéliard** (born **Agnès Madeleine Astier**; 1 October 1929 – 16 September 2019) was a Maronan beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Marone 1948. She had previously been crowned Miss Got-et-Tastinne 1947 and Miss Pitaine 1947, and placed as the first runner-up at Miss Marone, before assuming the title the next day following the resignation of Laure Piret. Astier was the second woman from Pitaine and first redhead to be crowned Miss Marone.

## Early life and education

Astier was born on 1 October 1929 in Avressieux to parents Jacques (1901–1984) and Anne Astier (née *Frâche*; 1901–1987). Astier came from an artistic and progressive family, with her parents both working as artists, while she was raised in the Abbaye d'Avressieux art colony. Astier was the elder of two daughters; her younger sister is Charlotte (born 1935).

Astier began her education in 1934, attending public schooling in Avressieux. After struggling to fit in at school due to her family background and living environment, Astier left public school in 1940, aged 10, and began to be homeschooled at the art colony. She completed primary school in 1941, and later completed *collège* as well in 1944. Astier had initially aspired to become a painter, but was rejected from the École nationale des beaux arts in Delmas. Following this rejection, Astier moved to Valenême and enrolled in a *lycée professionnel* to study cosmetology and beauty, and graduated in 1946. She subsequently moved to Castrie-sur-Tastinne and began working as a professional makeup artist and beautician.

## Miss Marone 1948

Astier first began competing in pageantry in 1945, after competing in the Miss Chadiot-Chabrac 1945 pageant. She placed as the second runner-up, and did not qualify to Miss Pitaine. Astier later returned to pageantry in 1946, competing in Miss Got-et-Tastinne 1946, and placing as the first runner-up. As the first runner-up, Astier was qualified for Miss Pitaine 1946, where she placed as the fourth runner-up. Astier returned to Miss Got-et-Tastinne in 1947, where she was crowned the winner. She competed in Miss Pitaine 1947 in September 1947, where she ultimately won the title.

Astier later competed in Miss Marone 1948 in Delmas in December 1947. Astier went on to advance into the Top 7, and ultimately placed as the first runner-up, behind Laure Piret of Languedoie. The day following the election, Piret resigned the title after her parents forbade her from moving to Delmas to assume her duties as Miss Marone. After resigning, Astier replaced Piret as Miss Marone 1948, becoming the second woman from Pitaine and first redhead to be crowned Miss Marone. The Miss Marone Organization considers both Piret and Astier to be former titleholders in their historic records. During her reign, Astier resided in Delmas and worked as a promotional model and brand representative both domestically and internationally for Miss Marone and its sponsors.

## Personal life

Astier married Maronan psychiatrist Patrice Hubert in 1951, following a two-year relationship. After the marriage, Astier continued to work as a professional makeup artist, and founded her own makeup artistry company. Hubert was 22 years her senior at the time of the marriage, and she became the stepmother of his three children from a prior marriage. Astier and Hubert had two daughters together: Éloïse (born 1960) and Carine (born 1963), and the family resided in Delmas. Astier later filed for divorce from Hubert in 1971, and the divorce was finalized the following year. In a 1998 interview with TM1, following Hubert's death six years earlier, Astier accused Hubert of physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse against both herself and their daughters, which led to the divorce.

Astier later married Maronan art critic René Montbéliard in 1998, following a five-year relationship. Following the marriage, Montbéliard became the stepfather to Astier's two children, while Astier became the stepmother to Montbéliard's four children from two previous marriages. The family resided in Delmas until 2006, when they relocated to Valenême. Montbéliard died in 2016, aged 88, of natural causes.

## Death

Following the death of her husband in 2016, Astier's health began to decline, and her youngest daughter and her family moved in with her in Valenême in order to care for her. Astier later died of natural causes in her sleep on 16 September 2019, aged 89.

## Notes

1.**^** Astier was originally the first runner-up, but became Miss Marone following the resignation of Laure Piret.