Axel Madsen (born May 27, 1930) was a Danish-American biographer and journalist. Born in Copenhagen and raised in Paris, Madsen turned from music to writing in the early 1950s, initially for the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune. In 1956 he moved to Canada and began working for United Press International. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Biographies included Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck, Coco Chanel, John Jacob Astor, Jacques Cousteau, Yves St. Laurent, Andre Malraux, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, William C. Durant, William Wyler, and John Huston.He died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2007.

'Axel Madsen's book cuts through the falsehoods. Set against the realism of historical events, it skilfully analyses the creation of the Chanel phenomenon' Vogue 'The best yet book on the big C' Elle 'A great rags to riches story and the fascination of the gorgon does come through' Irish Independent 'A lively biography of the extraordinary fashion designer whose life was from start to finish an extravaganza' Financial Times

Axel Madsen (born May 27, 1930) was a Danish-American biographer and journalist. Born in Copenhagen and raised in Paris, Madsen turned from music to writing in the early 1950s, initially for the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune. In 1956 he moved to Canada and began working for United Press International. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Biographies included Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck, Coco Chanel, John Jacob Astor, Jacques Cousteau, Yves St. Laurent, Andre Malraux, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, William C. Durant, William Wyler, and John Huston.He died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2007.

'Axel Madsen's book cuts through the falsehoods. Set against the realism of historical events, it skilfully analyses the creation of the Chanel phenomenon' Vogue 'The best yet book on the big C' Elle 'A great rags to riches story and the fascination of the gorgon does come through' Irish Independent 'A lively biography of the extraordinary fashion designer whose life was from start to finish an extravaganza' Financial Times

Axel Madsen (born May 27, 1930) was a Danish-American biographer and journalist. Born in Copenhagen and raised in Paris, Madsen turned from music to writing in the early 1950s, initially for the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune. In 1956 he moved to Canada and began working for United Press International. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Biographies included Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck, Coco Chanel, John Jacob Astor, Jacques Cousteau, Yves St. Laurent, Andre Malraux, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, William C. Durant, William Wyler, and John Huston.He died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2007.

'Axel Madsen's book cuts through the falsehoods. Set against the realism of historical events, it skilfully analyses the creation of the Chanel phenomenon' Vogue 'The best yet book on the big C' Elle 'A great rags to riches story and the fascination of the gorgon does come through' Irish Independent 'A lively biography of the extraordinary fashion designer whose life was from start to finish an extravaganza' Financial Times