Michèle Bennett, former First Lady of Haiti and the ex-wife of Jean-Claude Duvalier

Born in 1950, Michele Bennett was the daughter of a Haitian businessman who owned 50,000 acres of land, where he mostly grew coffee. She moved to New York when she was 15 and stayed there until she completed her school from St. Mary's School in Peekskill, New York. Her first job was with a slipper company, where she worked as a secretary.

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Her first marriage was with the son of a mulatto officer in 1973, a lock from which Michele gave birth to two children. Michele's first marriage ended five years later, in 1978, post which she took up a career in Public Relations. Her first stint was with a classy hotel called Habitation LeClerc.

Michele Bennett's second marriage was with Jean-Claude Duvalier, whom she had known since high school though they actually became romantically inclined only ten years later. Michele's marriage with Jean-Claude Duvalier was one of the celebrated and highly coveted events of the decade back then. With a cost of over $3 million and majority of the Haiti population participating, it was truly a majestic and pompous affair.

Michele and her husband, Jean-Claude Duvalier, toured all over Haiti following the wedding. She first acquainted herself with the Haiti population by distributing food and clothes to the needy. Mother Teresa once commented that she had never people being so comfortable with their head of state like they were with Michele. Michele gave birth to two children out of this wedding lock. In the year 1980, Michele and Jean-Claude Duvalier divorced after ten years of marriage.

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Read more: duvalier, jean claude duvalier, Race in Haiti, Black Vs Mulato, Mulato, Michele Bennet, Wedding, Coffee Industry, Coffee, First Lady, Race, People

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