The Glamorous Real-Life Inspiration Behind Netflix's "Rebecca"

The complicated and mysterious female characters Du Maurier wrote have often been regarded as being a bit autobiographical - and an outlet for the author to grapple with her own sexuality. Like all the most glamorous women, she had ambiguous romances. Although she never addressed her sexuality publicly, Du Maurier was rumored to have had an affair with her school headmistress, mademoiselle Yvon, and later, actress Gertrude Lawrence. She wrote countless letters, believed to be romantic in nature, to Ellen Doubleday, the wife of her publisher. She also privately described a distinct male persona she held inside, leading some to believe that she could have been transgender as well.