Millions and millions of people have flocked through the doors of Madame Tussauds since they first opened over 200 years ago and it remains just as popular as it ever was. There are many reasons for this enduring success, but at the heart of it all is good, old-fashioned curiosity.
1761: Madame Tussaud is born Marie Grosholtz in Strasbourg.
1777: Marie models the famous author and philosopher, Francois Voltaire.
1780: Marie becomes art tutor to King Louis XVI’s sister and goes to live at the Royal Court in Versailles.
1789: On the eve of The French Revolution, Marie returns to Paris.
1793: Marie is imprisoned with her mother in the notorious Laforce Prison, Paris. On her release she is forced to prove her allegiance to the Revolution by making death masks of executed nobles and her former employers, the King and Queen.
1794: The French Revolution ends and Marie inherits Dr Philippe Curtius’ wax exhibition.
1795: Marie marries François Tussaud.
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