Nicholas de la Motte (Bar-sur-Aube

Bar-sur-Aube

Bar-sur-Aube is a commune of France in the Aube department, of which it is a sub-prefecture.-Population:The inhabitants of the commune are called Baralbains.-Culture:*Market every Saturday morning in the halls...

 29 July 1755 - Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 6 November 1831), originally Marc Antoine-Nicolas de la Motte, was an 18th century Frenchman

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and adventurer known for his part as a swindler in the affair of the diamond necklace

Affair of the diamond necklace

The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a mysterious incident in the 1780s at the court of Louis XVI of France involving his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The reputation of the Queen, which was already tarnished by gossip, was ruined by the implication that she had participated in a crime to defraud...

. He was also known as the husband of Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Remy

Comtesse de la Motte

Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, "Comtesse de la Motte" was a notorious French adventuress and thief; she was married to Nicholas de la Motte whose family's claim to nobility is dubious. She herself was an impoverished descendant of the Valois royal family through an illegitimate son of King Henry II...

, whom he married on 6 June 1780.

He claimed to be a nobleman and gave himself the title of Comte (Count), however, his family's claim to nobility was dubious. He was only known as an officer of the gendarmes

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

  at the time of his marriage. Through his wife's influence with her paramour, the Cardinal de Rohan, he later obtained a commission as the Comte d' Artois's bodyguard.

Depictions in the Media

• Nicholas de la Motte appears as a villain
  Villain
  A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
  
   in the manga and anime The Rose of Versailles
  The Rose of Versailles
  , also known as Lady Oscar or La Rose de Versailles, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga and a media franchise created by Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an anime television series, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the...
  
  .
• Comte Nicholas was portrayed by Adrien Brody
  Adrien Brody
  Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
  
   in the movie The Affair of the Necklace
  The Affair of the Necklace
  The Affair of the Necklace is a 2001 American historical drama film directed by Charles Shyer. The screenplay by John Sweet is based on what became known as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, an incident that helped fuel the French populace's disillusionment with the monarchy and, among other...
  
  (2001).