Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers was born into the French nobility on 9 January 1500. She became royal mistress and adviser to King Henry II, a relationship that brought her extraordinary political influence and transformed her family's fortunes. Her wealth grew in tandem with her power, and she deployed both to become one of the great patrons of French Renaissance architecture. That influence held until Henry's death, after which her position — and protection — evaporated. She died on 25 April 1566.