It is hard to believe that, during the staid Victorian era, one woman had the sort of fame and admiration commanded by film and music superstars today.
Yet at the height of her popularity she could not go about without being mobbed, was the darling of the world's wealthiest people, enjoyed the company of intellectuals, artists and royalty, and commanded record-breaking fees for her stage performances.
The woman in question was Lillie Langtry, who was born 150 years ago today. Oscar Wilde said of her: "I would rather have discovered Lillie Langtry than America." His fellow Irishman and playwright George Bernard Shaw remarked: "I resent Mrs Langtry. She has no right to be intelligent, daring and independent, as well as lovely."
She was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in St Saviour's parish on Jersey, where her father was rector. She was lucky to inherit her mother's perfect complexion, blue eyes and auburn hair. Her father was over six feet tall, handsome, with a good physique and charming personality. He was also a talented actor. The family was well respected and some of Lillie's ancestors had served with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.
She was the only girl in a family of seven children and her upbringing was no different from that of her brothers - she took part in the same sports and, unusually for the time, received the same education. Her beauty developed early and she received her first marriage proposal at 14. She met Edward Langtry when she was 20. Although not wealthy, he had reasonable means and, more importantly, a beautiful yacht called Red Gauntlet. Despite her family's opposition, she married him and moved to Southampton.
But the glittering life the new Mrs Langtry hoped to lead failed to materialise. Her husband would go off fishing and drinking, leaving her alone for long stretches. When she caught typhoid fever, she and her doctor convinced Edward that she would recover much more quickly if they moved to London. He had to sell his beloved yacht to finance the move. The death of Lillie's favourite brother, Reggie, in a freak horse accident meant a sad, brief return to Jersey.
Back in London, a chance meeting with a former Jersey acquaintance brought the social invitation that led to Lillie's breakthrough into society. Still in mourning, she was wearing a simple black dress at the party and caught the attention of the artists Frank Miles and John Millais, who were also guests. Miles produced a line drawing of her on the spot, thus immortalising her moment of discovery. Not only her beauty, but her education and vivacious nature enchanted everyone she met, among them Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler.
When Millais painted her portrait he insisted she wear the black dress from their first meeting. He also had her hold a crimson lily, a flower native to Jersey, and from then on she was generally known as "the Jersey Lily". When the portrait was hung at the Royal Academy, it had to be roped off to protect it from the crowds eager to see the woman whom Millais called "the most beautiful woman on earth".
Prince Albert Edward, the future King Edward, became captivated with Lillie's beauty, wit and keen intelligence and they embarked on an affair with the forbearance of their respective spouses. She was presented at court but Queen Victoria's reception of her was frosty. The prince bought a royal love nest for the two at Bournemouth and the affair lasted for two years until his philandering eye lighted on someone else. His nephew, Prince Louis of Battenberg, then took up with Lillie and fathered her only child, Jeanne Marie. Lillie's mother raised the child in Jersey as her daughter's niece.
Money was now a pressing problem in Lillie's life and she was persuaded to capitalise on her fleeting fame and become an actress. She first appeared in light comedies and her success was swift. A tour of America followed and in the 1882-83 season she grossed between $100,000 and $150,000 - an astonishing sum at the time.
In 1887, she became an American citizen and divorced Edward Langtry. Then, after the death of her father, she decided to make England her permanent home. Through her ownership of racehorses, she met George Baird, a wealthy Scot who used to ride his own horses. He had a nasty temper and in a fit of jealousy one night he beat her badly, resulting in two black eyes and a 10-day stay in hospital. Try as he might to apologise, she would have nothing further to do with him - until he presented her with a 200-foot luxury yacht named White Lady. She dropped all charges against him and American reporters, seeing the irony of the situation, nicknamed the yacht Black Eye.
In 1898 Lillie married Hugo, son of Sir Henry de Bathe, who was 19 years her junior. Her daughter Jeanne Marie, on the night before her own marriage, discovered the truth of her origin and was so shocked that she became estranged thereafter from her mother, a wound that never healed in Lillie's life.
Her career on the stage wasn't yet over: she took up vaudeville in 1906, at the age of 53, and toured relentlessly for several years. Always a fashion leader, she bought a car and rode around in high style. The new medium of film gained popularity when she agreed to star under the direction of the pioneer film-maker D.W. Griffith in 1913.
Lillie Langtry's final home was a villa in Monaco where she tended to her prize-winning gardens. She died there in 1929 and was buried in the churchyard of St Saviour on Jersey. Her husband Hugo did not attend the funeral, nor did she bequeath him anything in her will.