A closer look
Hollywood screenwriters couldn't invent a character as delightfully chaotic as Julie d'Aubigny if they tried. A 17th-century bisexual opera singer and master swordswoman, she once faked her lover's death by stealing a dead nun's body, putting it in her girlfriend's bed, and burning down the entire convent so they could elope. Later, at a royal ball, she kissed a young woman, was challenged to a duel by three jealous noblemen, and casually stepped outside to stab all three of them before returning to the dance floor. She got pardoned by the King of France because he found her antics simply too entertaining to punish.
