Trucula Bonbon, born Iris Schmidt in Bremen, northwestern Germany, didn’t grow up dreaming of the stage. Her childhood was modest. Her father was a ship captain, and following her parents’ wishes, she worked as a secretary.

She lived a quiet and structured life, but everything changed when she met Luciano Ghion, a young Italian working as a waiter in Germany. They fell in love quickly and decided to marry, despite her parents’ disapproval.

Luciano, who had worked in bars and clubs across Europe, saw something in her: Showgirl potential. Not just beauty, but presence.

The idea of cabaret didn’t feel impossible: she had the look, charisma, and a quiet desire to see the world. So they took a risk. With very little money, they built her act from scratch, hiring a French choreographer, designing costumes, shaping a performance. And it worked. 

In 1975, she told Freitag magazine that her first performance ever had 850 spectators. That itself reinforce her of being in the right track. “I have a beautiful body — why shouldn’t I show it?”. 

She began touring: Morocco, France, Sweden, Spain; building momentum across Europe. In Barcelona, she was seen by Alain Bernardin, who brought her into Crazy Horse Paris without hesitation. “I knew immediately — it was her or no one.”

At Crazy Horse Paris, he gave her a new name: Trucula Bonbon. Green eyes, a delicate face, and a presence that read instantly on stage. Bernardin himself said it plainly: “An artist could not have designed a better body. With Iris, everything is right.”

She moved to Paris, and of course, Luciano came with her. Despite becoming one of the most famous showgirls in France, her life remained surprisingly simple.

She lived modestly, grounded, far from the excess usually tied to that world. Luciano drove her to work every night. Her days were long (eight, sometimes nine hours) and she would leave the club exhausted at 3 a.m. And every night, without fail, Luciano was there at the door, waiting to take her home.