Originally named Margaretha Geertruida “Grietje” Zelle MacLeod, her life spanned from first being a Dutch exotic dancer, to a courtesan, and finally an accused spy, that although possibly innocent, was executed by a firing squad in France for the German espionage during World War I.
By 1905, she began to win fame as an exotic dancer. It was then that she adopted the stage name Mata Hari. She became a leader of the early modern dance movement. She posed as a Java princess of priestly Hindu birth, pretending to have been immersed in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood. She was photographed numerous times during this period, nude or nearly so. She brought this carefree, provocative style to the stage in her act, which garnered wide acclaim. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she would just wear a jeweled bra and some ornaments upon her arms and head.
On February 13, 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris. She was put on trial, accused of spying for Germany and consequently causing the death of at least fifty thousand soldiers. At the age of 41, she was found guilty and executed by a firing squad on October 15, 1917. The idea of an exotic dancer, who worked as a lethal double agent, while using her powers of seduction to extract military secrets from her many lovers, set the legend. It made Mata Hari an enduring archetype of the “femme fatale”.
Explore the legend of Mata Hari in FIB’s 5 minute web-doco. Watch it above! and read more about Mata Hari HERE.
Written by Ryan Cook
Film by Kyrios Hoke
Discover more about Mata Hari and other bombshells in Fashion Industry Broadcast’s Style Icons Vol. 3 “Bombshells” available now on Amazon and at all good book stores.
