Katoucha Niane French model Date of Birth: 30.12.1960 Country: France

Biography of Katoucha Niane

Katoucha Niane was born on December 30, 1960, in Conakry, Guinea. She is the daughter of writer, playwright, and historian Niane Djibril Tamsir. As a child, Katoucha experienced exile with her family when her father had a conflict with the president of Guinea, Ahmed Sékou Touré. She lived with her uncle's family in Mali before reuniting with her own family in Dakar when she was twelve.
Early Life and Career

At the age of seventeen, Katoucha got married and had her first child before immigrating to France. In the late 1980s, she started her modeling career and became known as the "muse" of fashion genius Yves Saint Laurent. She had the opportunity to work with many famous couturiers. The dark-skinned model stopped walking the runway in 1994, dedicating herself fully to activism.
Activism

Katoucha spoke out against female genital mutilation, a cruel ritual that still exists in several African countries. After her success in the fashion world, she founded the organization KPLCE, which fights against this barbaric practice rooted in religion. Katoucha herself revealed that she underwent clitoral and labial removal surgeries at the age of nine. In her book titled "In My Flesh," published in 2007, she shared that her decision to become a top model was partly a revenge for the suffering she endured.
Disappearance and Death

On the night of February 1, 2008, Katoucha disappeared. She did not return from a party to her houseboat on the Seine River near the Alexandre III Bridge in Paris. Her family reported her disappearance to the police, but apart from her handbag found near the bridge, nothing else was known about the 47-year-old former Guinean model. On February 28, a woman's body was found in the Seine River near Boulogne. Based on the description and clothing of the drowned woman, it was identified as the missing Katoucha. Preliminary investigations ruled out criminal motives for her death, and after the autopsy, no signs of violence were found. The possibility of suicide was considered during the investigation, but ultimately, the police concluded that the ex-model accidentally drowned after slipping and falling into the water.