Ten facts about Madame Tussauds

To mark the opening of Madame Tussauds in Dubai, here are ten facts about the company:

 

1: Madame Tussaud waxworks was founded by Marie Tussaud, who picked up her talent of making waxworks from Dr Philippe Curtius, when her mother served as his housekeeper.

 

2: Marie Tussaud made her first waxwork of Francois Voltaire aged 16.

 

3: All the wax figures made by Madame Tussauds are made two percent larger than the person actually is, as the wax is expected to shrink during the process.

 

4: It takes six months, 250 measurements and photographs, 2,400lbs of wax and $45,000 to make a Madame Tussaud waxwork.

 

5: Each subject is invited for a sitting to be able to get the right body measurements for the waxwork. If the person is a historical figure who has passed away, a team of researchers will analyse hundreds of pictures and get the measurements from there. 

 

6: All the waxworks displayed in Madame Tussauds have their hair washed and their make-up retouched regularly, and there are two maintenance teams that check each figure daily before the museum opens.

 

7: Madame Tussauds has been damaged twice; once in 1925 when a fire broke out, and again in 1940 when a bomb damaged 350 head moulds and a cinema which was part of the museum at the time.

 

8: The first overseas museum opened in Amsterdam in 1970. There are currently 21 Madame Tussauds worldwide, including six in the USA, and others in Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney.

 

9: Madame Tussauds has appeared in TV shows such as Most Haunted and is in the Jackie Chan film, Shanghai Knights.

 

10: The first Madame Tussauds is based in London on Marylebone Road and is open Monday- Friday 9:30am – 5:30pm and Saturday- Sunday 9am – 6pm. The closest tube stations are Baker Street and Regents Park.