Geneviève de Fontenay

Geneviève Suzanne Marie-Thérèse Mulmann (30 August 1932 – 1 August 2023), known professionally as Geneviève de Fontenay (French pronunciation: [ʒənvjɛv də fɔ̃tnɛ]), was a French businesswoman who served as the president of the Miss France Committee from 1981 until 2007. After leaving her position with Miss France, Fontenay created the beauty pageant Miss Prestige National in 2010, and served as its president until her retirement in 2016.

Early life and education

Geneviève Suzanne Marie-Thérèse Mulmann was born on 30 August 1932 in Longwy, Lorraine, as the daughter of André Mulmann and Marie-Thérèse Martin. The eldest of ten children, her father was a mining engineer at the Hagondange steelworks. Fontenay was educated at a hospitality school in Strasbourg, and later moved to Paris to train as a beautician at age 17. In the 1950s, Fontenay settled in Saint-Cloud with her partner, where she began to work as a fashion designer and model.

Career

Miss France (1954–2010)

Fontenay began her career with the Miss France Committee in 1954 as its general secretary, often taking on extra roles such as chauffeur, coach and costume designer. After Fontenay's partner Louis Poirot became the general delegate of Miss France, Fontenay became his assistant in 1962.

Fontenay became the president of the Miss France Committee in 1981, following the death of Poirot, who had previously held the office. Upon taking control of the organization, Fontenay and her son, Xavier Poirot de Fontenay, transformed the organization into a company. In 2002, they sold portions of the business to Endemol Shine France, to assist with commercial and television aspects of the organization.