Hellé Nice (born Mariette Hélène Delangle; 15 December 1900 – 1 October 1984) was a French model, dancer, and a motor racing driver who competed in numerous minor Grands Prix and other races between 1928 and 1939, whose racing career was impaired by a serious crash in 1936, and whose effort to resume racing after World War II was ruined by an unproven accusation of collaboration with the Nazis. Early life Mariette Hélène Delangle was the daughter of Alexandrine Bouillie and Léon Delangle, the postman in Aunay-sous-Auneau, Eure-et-Loir, a village 47 miles from Paris. She went to Paris at age 16, initially working as a nude model for artist Rene Carrere, who encouraged her to take up ballet, leading to her becoming a very successful dancer under the stage name Hélène Nice which eventually became Hellé Nice. She built a solid reputation as a solo act but in 1926 decided to partner with Robert Lisset and performed at cabarets around Europe. Her income from dancing as well as modelling became such that she could afford to purchase a home and her own yacht. However, her dancing career was cut short in 1929 after she had an accident whilst evading an avalanche while skiing, saving her life but injuring her knee badly. In addition to the fast cars of her racing career, Nice lived a fast life. Her growing fame meant there was no shortage of suitors. Some of her affairs were brief while others were of longer duration that, beyond the wealthy and powerful Philippe de Rothschild, included members of the European nobility and other personalities such as Henri de Courcelles, Jean Bugatti and Count Bruno d'Harcourt. Racing career Nice was introduced to motor racing by racing driver de Courcelles. At the time, the Paris area was one of the principal centres of the French car industry and there were numerous competitions for auto enthusiasts. Nice loved the thrill of driving fast cars and so snatched the chance to perform in the racing event at the annual fair organized by fellow performers from the Paris entertainment world. She was an avid downhill skier but an accident on the slopes damaged her knee and ended her dancing career. Hellé Nice decided to try her hand at professional auto racing. In June 1929, driving an Oméga-Six, she won a short (50 km) 5-car race (entitled the "Grand Prix féminin") and finished 15th