Somewhat unclassifiable actress, Fashionista Chloë Sevigny and Calvin Klein’s muse is sometimes considered so French that people address her in French. She even suggests that she is descended from the Marquise de Sévigné. However, the girl from Connecticut doesn’t speak a word of Coco Chanel’s language. Her French roots lie in Quebec for half a dozen generations and not with the famous Marquise who wrote tons of letters.
Chloë Sevigny was born on November 18, 1974 in Springfield, Massachusetts. She grew up in Darien (pop. 20,000) on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. A victim of scoliosis and never operated on, she left home at 18 to settle in New York, 30 miles to the west.
As a fashion lover, she is hired by a magazine for young girls. It was her then lover, screenwriter Harmony Korine, who got her a leading role in a Larry Clark film. She then continued filming, leading to “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999), which earned her an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for supporting actress.
Wilfred Sévigny and Rose Marois, the great-grandparents of Chloë Sevigny from Quebec. Public domain
The muse is the daughter of David Sevigny (1940-1996), an accountant who became an art professor. Grandfather Harold (1915-1984) was a Delta Airlines pilot for 32 years.
The ancestor Julien-Charles Sévigny dit Lafleur (1668-1727), originally from Rennes, was a canvas weaver.
When he joined the Compagnies franches de la Marine as a soldier, he married Marguerite Rognon dit Laroche (1678-1732), a native Canadian who bore him 12 children. The couple settled in Neuville. Her son Antoine (1702–1757), who married at 33, had 15 children by Françoise Béland (1715–1805), which did not prevent the latter from living to the age of 90.
Her son Joseph (1747-1816) went upriver to Varennes. The family thrived in the area until Pierre (1814-1870) moved to Fall River, Massachusetts.
Pierre became a shoemaker from a farmer.
His son Charles-Eusèbe (1841-1919), who married a girl from Mont St-Grégoire, is a real businessman. He invents an automatic pneumatic cutter that can cut wrapped candy rolls, the famous colorful Christmas candies.
He founded Sevigny’s Candy Company, which earned him the nickname Charles “The Candyman.” The company was sold to a competitor, Washburn Candy Company, in 1986 and its automatic cutter is still in use today.
The Sevigny confectionery company, founded by Charles-Eusèbe Sévigny, originally from Saint-Pie de Bagot. Provided by Jacques Noël
Paternal descent
1. SEVIGNY, David (1940-1996), MALINOWSKI, Janine
2. SEVIGNY Harold (1915-1984), STEVENS, Ernestine (1914-1988). Married October 9, 1937 in Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts.
3. SEVIGNY, Wilfred (1871-1932), MAROIS, Rose (1881-1966). Married May 8, 1898 in Fall River, Massachusetts.
4. SÉVIGNY, Charles-Eusebe (1841-1919), BRISSON, Marie Louise (1852-1926). Married October 8, 1868 in Fall River, Massachusetts.
5. SEVIGNY, Pierre (1814-1870), DUGRENIER, Genevieve (1816-1870). Married Sainte-Pie de Bagot on January 16, 1838.
6. SEVIGNY, Pierre (1788-1866), BRISSETTE, Elizabeth (1790-1856). Married on September 30, 1811 in Saint-Hyacinthe.
7. SEVIGNY, Joseph (1747-1816), FONTAINE, Louise (1758-1795). Married on November 27, 1775 in Varennes.
8. SEVIGNY, Antoine (1702-1757), BÉLAND, Françoise (1715-1805). Married on January 10, 1735 in Neuville.
9. SEVIGNY-LAFLEUR, Julien Charles (1668-1727), ROGNON LAROCHE, Marguerite, (1678-1732). Married on April 18, 1695 in Neuville.