Algeria 

Born Jean-Pierre on November 11, 1935, in the then French “Department” of Algeria.  She grew up in a large household with her immediate family and her aunts, cousins and grandparents as well. She always knew she was different growing up.  She recounts the story, in her 2013 Documentary Bambi by Sebastien Lifshitz, of wearing her sisters' dresses and how happy they made her feel.  And her family asking her what her name was, and she refused to say Jean-Pierre, they made her cry because she hated that name, she felt it didn't represent who she was. She went to live near Algiers for school with her Uncle Jo around 14 years old and befriended her uncle's girlfriend Rosette.  She liked that Rosette called her Jean-P, she felt it less masculine. She met a boy from school and took him home to visit her family and her mother found them in bed together.  Bambi struggled with her identity she didn't understand if she was a homosexual, or a man trapped in a woman's body.  Around 1952 Le carrousel was on tour in Algeria at the Casino de la Corniche and Rosette mentioned to Bambi that she should go see the show. She describes the beautiful costumes and dresses and the gorgeous “travesti’s”. She saw Coccinelle in that production as well. She described it as a breath of fresh air.  She bought a dress and started wearing makeup  her boyfriend at the time did not approve . She said it was the first time in life she truly wanted to die, but she quickly realized “no i want to live!” . She went to see her mother and told her she was moving to Paris.  

 

Paris

When she arrived in Paris she went to Le Carrousel and met with Monsieur Marcel. He asked, "can you sing?" She said "no"., "Can you dance?" She said" no", He said no big deal, but you will start out at Madame Arthur. She debuted on Christmas eve 1953. Bambi told me that she didn't have a stage name at first and that the habilleuse Jeanette (backstage dresser) gave her the name Cathy, which was her daughter's name. she writes about that in her book “Marie parce que c’est joli” Within a few months now 1954 she started working at Le Carrousel.  She soon became friends with Coccinelle who she had seen on tour in Algeria. Eventually she leaves the name Cathy behind and is given the option to choose between Gazelle, Chiffon and Bambi.  After a few years at Le Carrousel Bambi moved her mother to Paris around 1956.  Bambi had already been taking hormones for quite some time and eventually followed Coccinelle's footsteps to have reassignment surgery with Dr. Georges Burou in Casablanca in 1959.  Also in 1959 Bambi makes a Cameo as she performs “Paris Sexy” in Vittorio Sala’s Film “Costa Azzura”. In 1961 with the impending closure of Le Carrousel’s 40 rue du Colisee location, Bambi has her doubts about finding work. She is assured that she will have work at Madame Arthur and Elle et Lui.  After a few on and off relationships with men Bambi meets Ute, a beautiful tall blonde German Lesbian, at Elle et Lui and they start dating...

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...TO BE CONTINUED.