Chanel family matriarch dies aged 99: company

Paris: Eliane Heilbronn, mother of the secretive owners of luxury group Chanel, has died aged 99, the company said on Monday. The brand is famed fo...

Paris: Eliane Heilbronn, mother of the secretive owners of luxury group Chanel, has died aged 99, the company said on Monday.

The brand is famed for its creative director Karl Lagerfeld, perfumes such as Chanel No 5 and its distinctive quilted handbags.

Its owners Alain Wertheimer and his brother Gerard are the grandsons of the label's co-founder Pierre Wertheimer.

"Chanel is deeply saddened to confirm the death of Madame Eliane Heilbronn," the group said in a statement, adding that a private funeral will be organised.

In 1947, Eliane Fisher married Jacques Wertheimer, the only son of Pierre Wertheimer, who owned Parfums Chanel and later the Chanel fashion house with his brother Paul.