Madame du Barry
Also known as Marie-Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse Du Barry, Marie-Jeanne Becu, comtesse du Barry Jeanne Becu, Countess Du Barry, Madame Barre
French noblewoman by marriage (1743–1793), last mistress of Louis XV (from 1768 to 1774)
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Madame du Barry was a French noblewoman who became the last mistress of King Louis XV, holding significant influence at court from 1768 until his death in 1774. Her story matters because she exemplifies the political power wielded by royal mistresses in 18th-century France and the dramatic reversals of fortune that could follow a monarch's reign—she was executed during the French Revolution in 1793.
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Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry ( French: [baʁi]; 19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last maîtresse-en-titre of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason—particularly being suspected of assisting émigrés to flee from the Revolution. She is also known as "Mademoiselle Vaubernier" ([vobɛʁnje]).
In 1768, when the king wished to make Jeanne maîtresse-en-titre, etiquette required her to be the wife of a high courtier, so she was hastily married on 1 September 1768 to Comte Guillaume du Barry. The wedding ceremony was accompanied by a false birth certificate created by Jean-Baptiste du Barry, the comte's older brother. The certificate made Jeanne appear younger by three years and obscured her poor background. Henceforth, she was recognised as the king's official paramour.