Most sources suggest Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel was born in 1883,
though this was a closely guarded fact 一( [io ) Coco not keen on
revealing her birthdate. Her mother was unmarried and her
upbringing was ( 画 ) by poverty and uncertainty. When she was
12, her mother died, and her father sent his three daughters, ( 語 )
Coco, to a convent* in Correze. Life in the religious institution was
Strict, but she did learn to sew and gain a basic knowledge of creating
clothes.