Tussaud, Marie Gresholtz, << tuh SOH or too SOH, GREHS hohlts >> (1761?-1850), was a Swiss modeler in wax. Tussaud exhibited a collection of her wax figures of prominent people in London, England, in 1802. She and her sons later created a permanent exhibit of the figures. Some of the characters and scenes in the exhibit were modeled from life by Madame Tussaud and members of her family with remarkable accuracy. Her descendants maintained the attraction, now called Madame Tussauds London, after her death. Today, Madame Tussauds attractions can be found in a number of other cities around the world as well. Additional figures for the exhibits are made each year.
Marie Gresholtz was born in Bern, Switzerland, and learned to model in her uncle’s museum in Paris. In 1794 she married Francois Tussaud. During the French Revolution she was suspected of sympathy for the king. She was forced to model heads of the revolutionary leaders, and of victims of the guillotine. She was later imprisoned. When released, she moved to London. She died on April 16, 1850.
