The Crown season 6 | Who is ‘Madame Bikini,’ Kelly Fisher, and was her legal battle against Dodi real?

The first half of Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ season 6 has landed today, with the first four episodes detailing the final days of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s life. From spending time together on the Cujo and photographed in St. Tropez to that fateful night in Paris and the loss of both the heir to the Harrod’s fortune and the People’s Princess. 

But while Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, was busy trying to matchmake between his son and Diana, he was also pretty adamant that his son’s current fiancée was a gold digger. “Madame Bikini,” as Mou Mou called her in the first episode of the new season, was indeed a real person that made their way into the show; “Madame Bikini” is former model Kelly Fisher - and the legal case mentioned in episode 3 was also very real.

Born and raised in Kentucky, Fisher and her father moved to Toronto, Canada when she turned 8. It was living in Canada when she first entered the modelling world, signing to an agency in the city when she turned just 16. She shared snippets of her early modelling career in a 2014 interview with Aiken Woman, revealing that she spent a summer modelling in the enchanting city of Paris. Despite completing two semesters of college, the allure of the modelling world proved too alluring, leading Fisher to step away from her studies and model full-time. 

She soon graced the pages of prestigious publications such as Vogue, Elle, and Cosmopolitan, while collaborations with renowned fashion brands like Armani, Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Klein solidified her status in the fashion industry. Fisher's modelling career took her on a journey across Europe and Asia, eventually bringing her to Paris in July 1996, where she would first meet a film producer by the name of Dodi Fayed.

The romance between Fisher and Fayed was rapid, leading to an engagement after only eight months of dating. Fueling the narrative of their impending union, Dodi presented Fisher with a sapphire and diamond engagement ring, setting the stage for a planned wedding scheduled for August 1997. However, things suddenly changed when images of Dodi and Princess Diana embracing on a yacht were splashed across newspapers across the world.

The other yacht: Dodi, Diana and lawsuits

Now aware of the affair, Fisher found herself part of the Princess Diana merry-go-round of press interest. In a press conference held in Beverly Hills, California, Fisher, accompanied by her lawyer Gloria Allred, announced her intent to sue Dodi for breach of marital contract. 

The images of Dodi and Diana, coupled with allegations that Dodi incentivized Fisher to curtail her modelling career, formed the basis of Fisher's legal claims. Allred asserted that Fisher's decision to go public was a cautionary move aimed at warning Princess Diana about the intricacies of Dodi's romantic history. Despite Dodi's denial of their engagement, transcripts of telephone conversations between him and Fisher unveiled in 2008, painted a complex picture. Fisher expressed her dismay at Dodi's pursuit of Diana while they were still involved, highlighting the emotional turmoil surrounding their breakup.

In the aftermath of Diana and Dodi's deaths, Fisher, acknowledging the enormity of the tragedy, chose to drop her lawsuit. A statement issued via Allred expressed Fisher's devastation at the loss of Dodi and Princess Diana, emphasizing the primacy of human life over legal disputes.

Despite everything, Fisher did find love in the end -  she met her husband Mikhail Movshina in the Central Republic of Africa. The couple lived in Paris and the French Alps before ultimately settling in Aiken, South Carolina, where they welcomed a daughter in 2011.

When is part two of 'The Crown' Season 6 on Netflix?

The second part of 'The Crown' Season 6 will arrive on Netflix on December 14 2023 at 8am GMT