Joséphine de Beauharnais

Empress consort of the French from 1804 to 1814 (1763-1814)

Fame64.6
Momentum15.8
France rank#166

Source-basedRising

Fame64.6
Momentum15.8
France rank#166
Designers rank#25
Wikipedia106.5K

Lived 1763–1814, aged 51France

France DesignersDesigner

Wikipedia
72 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in France
#166
Designers
Era
1763–1814
Aged 51
Awards
1
recognised work

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

She survived the guillotine that killed her first husband, married a general who became emperor, then lost the crown for failing to produce an heir — but her children's children wore half the crowns of Europe anyway.

Biography

About

Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on 23 June 1763, she married Alexandre de Beauharnais, who was guillotined during the Reign of Terror; she was imprisoned in the Carmes prison and released five days after his execution. Her second marriage, to Napoleon, made her Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 and Queen of Italy from 26 May 1805. Napoleon annulled the marriage on 10 January 1810 because she bore him no children, then married Marie Louise of Austria. Through her children by Beauharnais, she became grandmother to Emperor Napoleon III of France and Empress Amélie of Brazil; he…

Gallery