Anne De Pisseleu Etampes, duchess d', a mistress of Francis I. of France, born about 1508, died about 1576. Her father, Guillaume de Pisseleu, was a country gentleman of Picardy. Anne was a maid of honor of the queen regent, when in 1526 she attracted the attention of her son Francis I. She became his favorite mistress, displacing the countess de Chateaubriant; he gave her for a nominal husband Jean de Brosse, afterward duke d'Etampes. The new duchess secured lucrative appointments for her relatives and friends, and wielded a paramount influence in the affairs of the nation. Upon the fine arts and in some other directions her influence was good, but the jealousy which sprung up between her and Diana of Poitiers, the mistress of the dauphin Henry, eventually became a source of calamity for her lover and for France. It was chiefly under the influence of this feeling that she betrayed to Charles V. the movements of the French army; and the disadvantageous treaty of Crespy in 1544 was due to the intrigues of Anne and of Diana. Anne was present in 1538 at the interview between Francis I. and Charles V., and according to the chroniclers of the times the emperor was fascinated by her beauty. The death of Francis (1547) proved fatal to her power.

Henry II. banished her from the court, and she ended her days on one of her estates. It is said that she devoted herself to religion, and became a Protestant.