Toto Koopman (1908-1991) was a famous model and spy for the Italian resistance during World War II.
Koopman--born with the first name "Catherine"--in 1908 to a Dutch father and a half-Dutch and half-Indonesian mother. She grew up in an Indonesia under colonial rule.
She went to high school at a boarding school in the Netherlands. She had an ease with languages and became fluent in six during her lifetime.
At 19, she landed in Paris to pursue a modeling career. She became the house model for Coco Chanel and thereafter her career progressed quickly. She was a favorite subject of several Vogue photographers.
When she moved to London, she purused a career in films. She famously dated Tallulah Bankhead for a few months. During her liaison with Bankhead, she met many more influential people including a billionaire newspaper owner, Lord Overbrook, who would become her lover.
Koopman acted as a spy for Overbrook eavesdropping for him in Germany and Italy under the guise of working as a traveling performer. Koopman who was not know for monogamous relationships began an affair with Overbrook's son, Max Aitken during this time which enraged Overbrook.
When her relationship with Aitken ended, she left for Italy where she worked for anti-fascist causes. She was eventually sent to a concentration camp for women, Ravensbruck for seven months until the Russians freed the camp.
Koopman--who had suffered greatly during her time in the camp--moved to Switzerland and then eventually England to be with an influential art dealer, Erica Brausen who was an early champion of Francis Bacon. The two continued a tumultuous relationship until Koopman's death in 1991. --Heidi Durrow
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Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience. Please look for more profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May at Lightskinned-ed Girl, the blog! Thanks for reading. And check out some of the previous year's profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Copyright 2014.
