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HelpRe: Old Hollywood Insp. CAF (Part 3)
in reply to a message by Antique_Cherub
In 1951, Fay Fleming celebrated her fortieth birthday in Provence, where she had recently renovated a Chateau. She was born a day before Christmas, and wore a beautiful red Dior dress and holly in her hair. The Chateau had four real trees and presents for everyone, including her beloved greyhounds, Io and Ganymede. Fleming’s gift to herself was a new car, a red Jaguar.
Taking a short break from acting, Fleming spent her years between France, England, and Italy. On a rainy day in London, she met a striking young woman in gorgeous Chanel ensemble, giggling without a care in the world that she was being soaked through. They ducked into a quiet café and shared cups and cups of tea, and their life stories. Safi Diop was an up-and-coming singer, known for her soulful rendition of “Amapola.” She was Senegalese-French, her father having fought for France during WWI in the Senegalese Tirailleurs; her mother was a seamstress from Hauts-de-France who had moved to Paris to work for a reputable modiste. Fleming had never before felt such love for a person, besides her children, and eventually realized her feelings were reciprocated. Fleming and Safi were well-known amongst “The Sewing Circle”, a group of Old Hollywood actresses who were openly (as openly as one could be at that time) Lesbian and Bisexual. Among them were such greats as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich (who had long been rumored to have been more than just friends with Fleming), Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Katharine Hepburn.
Safi would go on to move in with Fleming at the chateau in 1953, were they would host lavish parties, filled with champagne and smoke, and the keenest minds of the time-period. No evening would be complete without Safi accompanying Fleming on the piano as she sung her latest hits. Eventually, Safi would even adopt five-year-old twin girls, Mireille and Aurore, which was quite unusual for the time, and though it couldn’t be said legally, it was known that they raised them together. They were together for six years, until Safi would lose her beloved father to a long battle with cancer. She needed time alone and moved to London to record a new album. Fleming was heartbroken by her decision but didn’t let it get in the way of supporting her long-time love and their children.
DW: Safi Léone Diop “Safi”
DW: Fay Fleming
DD3/DD4: Mireille Marie-Ange & Aurore Alix
___
Mireille Diop would become a smoky-voiced chanteuse like her mother, known most popularly for singing the theme song for the James Bond film, “The Man Who Died Twice,” in 1973 at twenty-five. She would never marry, but had two long term relationships, one with a French-Algerian model, Lucien Chakouri, who was the male face of Gucci for over fifteen-years; their relationship lasted from 1972 to 1978. They had a son, Idir, together. Her most recent is with British art-house director, Carey Loach. Together, they had a baby girl, Matilda.
DBF1: Lucien Tahar Chakouri
DGF: Mireille Marie-Ange Diop
DS: Idir Ludovic Chakouri
DBF2: Carey Leonard Loach
DGF: Mireille Marie-Ange Diop
DD: Matilda Bérengère Loach
___
Aurore Diop would become a chef whose German, West African, and French fusions had celebrities like Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall, and Jean-Paul Belmondo coming back again and again. Her original restaurant called Köstlich was happily situated in bustling Paris, but now there is one in Hollywood, London, and even Tokyo. She married her sous-chef, Amadou Sembène, and they had four amazing children — Alioune, Malick, Aïda, and Maïmouna— who have inherited their parents’ love of food.
DH: Amadou Cheikh Sembène
DW: Aurore Alix Diop
DS: Alioune Erwan Sembène
DS/DD: Malick Judicaël Sembène & Aïda Claude Sembène
DD: Maïmouna Capucine Sembène
Taking a short break from acting, Fleming spent her years between France, England, and Italy. On a rainy day in London, she met a striking young woman in gorgeous Chanel ensemble, giggling without a care in the world that she was being soaked through. They ducked into a quiet café and shared cups and cups of tea, and their life stories. Safi Diop was an up-and-coming singer, known for her soulful rendition of “Amapola.” She was Senegalese-French, her father having fought for France during WWI in the Senegalese Tirailleurs; her mother was a seamstress from Hauts-de-France who had moved to Paris to work for a reputable modiste. Fleming had never before felt such love for a person, besides her children, and eventually realized her feelings were reciprocated. Fleming and Safi were well-known amongst “The Sewing Circle”, a group of Old Hollywood actresses who were openly (as openly as one could be at that time) Lesbian and Bisexual. Among them were such greats as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich (who had long been rumored to have been more than just friends with Fleming), Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Katharine Hepburn.
Safi would go on to move in with Fleming at the chateau in 1953, were they would host lavish parties, filled with champagne and smoke, and the keenest minds of the time-period. No evening would be complete without Safi accompanying Fleming on the piano as she sung her latest hits. Eventually, Safi would even adopt five-year-old twin girls, Mireille and Aurore, which was quite unusual for the time, and though it couldn’t be said legally, it was known that they raised them together. They were together for six years, until Safi would lose her beloved father to a long battle with cancer. She needed time alone and moved to London to record a new album. Fleming was heartbroken by her decision but didn’t let it get in the way of supporting her long-time love and their children.
DW: Safi Léone Diop “Safi”
DW: Fay Fleming
DD3/DD4: Mireille Marie-Ange & Aurore Alix
___
Mireille Diop would become a smoky-voiced chanteuse like her mother, known most popularly for singing the theme song for the James Bond film, “The Man Who Died Twice,” in 1973 at twenty-five. She would never marry, but had two long term relationships, one with a French-Algerian model, Lucien Chakouri, who was the male face of Gucci for over fifteen-years; their relationship lasted from 1972 to 1978. They had a son, Idir, together. Her most recent is with British art-house director, Carey Loach. Together, they had a baby girl, Matilda.
DBF1: Lucien Tahar Chakouri
DGF: Mireille Marie-Ange Diop
DS: Idir Ludovic Chakouri
DBF2: Carey Leonard Loach
DGF: Mireille Marie-Ange Diop
DD: Matilda Bérengère Loach
___
Aurore Diop would become a chef whose German, West African, and French fusions had celebrities like Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall, and Jean-Paul Belmondo coming back again and again. Her original restaurant called Köstlich was happily situated in bustling Paris, but now there is one in Hollywood, London, and even Tokyo. She married her sous-chef, Amadou Sembène, and they had four amazing children — Alioune, Malick, Aïda, and Maïmouna— who have inherited their parents’ love of food.
DH: Amadou Cheikh Sembène
DW: Aurore Alix Diop
DS: Alioune Erwan Sembène
DS/DD: Malick Judicaël Sembène & Aïda Claude Sembène
DD: Maïmouna Capucine Sembène
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