Madame de Pompadour Was Far More Than a ‘Mistress’ Even though she was a keen politicker and influential patron, she’s been historically overlooked Kat Eschner ...

Madame de Pompadour is perhaps most associated with the dramatically upswept hairstyle that bears her name today. The more historically informed might pin her as Louis XV's mistress in the mid-1700s.

Madame de Pompadour, perhaps best remembered for her eponymous, towering hairstyle, was a hugely influential member of the French royal court and chief mistress to King Louis XV from 1745 until 1751.