Marie inherited a wax figure collection from her mentor, Dr. Philippe Curtius, who had displayed wax models in Paris. This collection became the foundation for what would eventually become Madame Tussauds.
Marie moved to London in 1802, initially as part of a traveling show during the Napoleonic Wars. Unable to return to France due to political unrest, she decided to stay and tour her collection across the UK.
For more than three decades, Marie took her wax exhibition on the road across Britain and Ireland, building popularity through word-of-mouth and public curiosity.
At age 74, Marie Tussaud opened her first permanent wax museum on Baker Street in London. It featured historical and royal figures, infamous criminals, and a ‘Separate Room’, which featured gruesome relics of the French Revolution; the room was coined the “Chamber of Horrors.”
Marie was a savvy businesswoman. She branded the attraction with her own name, turning herself into a part of the experience and laying the groundwork for the iconic "Madame Tussauds" name we know today.
In 1884 Marie’s grandsons move the attraction to its current site on Marylebone Road.
