Chevalière d'Éon
French diplomat, spy and soldier. d’Éon lived openly as a trans woman while in exile in England.
- Lived
- 1728–1810
- Country
- France
Updated September 2026
About Chevalière d'Éon
Charlotte d'Éon de Beaumont, usually known as the Chevalière d'Éon or the Chevalier d'Éon, was a French diplomat, spy, and soldier. D'Éon fought in the Seven Years' War, and spied for France while in Russia and England. Assigned male at birth, D'Éon had androgynous physical characteristics and natural abilities as a mimic and spy. She appeared publicly as a man and pursued masculine occupations for the first half of her life, except for when she successfully infiltrated the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia by presenting as a woman. Starting in 1777, d'Éon lived as a woman and was officially recognised as such by King Louis XVI.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.