Simone Duvalier imperious bearing, Haitians referred to her as "Mama Doc". She was, like her husband, reported to be a Vodou expert. She cultivated the image of a benefactor; dispensing charity to inhabitants of "Cite Simone", a planned settlement named for her that is known today as Cité Soleil, one of the most miserable slums in Latin America. Simone Duvalier's influence reached its peak after the death of her husband on 21 April 1971, when her nineteen-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier succeeded his father as Haiti's "President for Life". Simone Duvalier retained the title of First Lady, and relished the power it conferred.
Simone Duvalier were encouraged to acquire vocational skills and Simone Ovide was trained as a nurse's aide. While working as a nurse she met a young doctor named François Duvalier. The couple was married on 27 December 1939, and had four children: Marie Denise, Nicole, Simone “Queen”, and Jean-Claude, their only son. After their marriage, François Duvalier became minister of public health and labor in 1949 and won election to the presidency in 1957. Throughout his 14 years in office, his wife guarded access to her husband and developed and promoted her own palace favorites. Because of her acquired status and her