Lola Montez (born February 17, 1821, Grange, County Sligo, Ireland—died January 17, 1861, New York, New York, U.S.) was an Irish adventuress and “Spanish” dancer who achieved international notoriety through her liaison with King Louis I (Ludwig I) of Bavaria.
Elizabeth (“Eliza”) Gilbert spent much of her girlhood in India but was educated in Scotland and England. At age 19 she eloped with Lieutenant Thomas James; the couple separated five years later, and in 1843 Gilbert launched a career as a dancer. Her London debut in June as “Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer” was disrupted when she was recognized as Mrs. James. The fiasco would probably have ended the career of anyone less beautiful and determined, but Montez received additional dancing engagements throughout Europe. During her travels she reputedly formed liaisons with Franz Liszt and Alexandre Dumas, among many others.
Late in 1846 Montez danced in Munich, and Louis I of Bavaria was so struck by her beauty that he offered her a castle. She accepted, became Baroness Rosenthal and Countess of Lansfeld, and remained as his mistress. Under Montez’s influence (the cabinet became known as the “Lolaministerium”), Louis inaugurated liberal and anti-Jesuit governmental policies, but his infatuation with her helped to bring about the collapse of his regime in the revolution of 1848. In March of that year Louis abdicated in favour of his son. Montez fled to London, where in 1849 she married Lieutenant George Heald, although she had never been divorced from James. Heald later left her.
From 1851 to 1853 Montez performed in the United States. Her third marriage, to Patrick P. Hull of San Francisco in 1853, ended in divorce soon after she moved to Grass Valley, California. There, among other amusements, she coached young Lotta Crabtree in singing and dancing. Montez settled in New York City after an unsuccessful tour of Australia (1855–56) and gathered a following as a lecturer on such topics as fashion, gallantry, and beautiful women. An apparently genuine religious conversion led her to take up various personal philanthropies.
Montez published Anecdotes of Love; Being a True Account of the Most Remarkable Events Connected with the History of Love; in All Ages and among All Nations (1858), The Arts of Beauty, or, Secrets of a Lady’s Toilet with Hints to Gentlemen on the Art of Fascination (1858), and Lectures of Lola Montez, Including Her Autobiography (1858). The international notoriety of her heyday persisted long after her death and inspired numerous literary and balletic allusions.