Francine Cousteau

Francine Triplet Cousteau is the current president of the non-profit organization Cousteau Society. Francine Cousteau is the widow of the famous oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who died in 1997. Francine is the mother of Jacques Cousteau's third and fourth children (Diane and Pierre-Yves). Simone Cousteau the mother of Jacques Cousteau's first two children died in 1990 apparently unaware that Jacques-Yves Cousteau had had two children with Francine, an air hostess he had met on Concorde. Six months later, when Cousteau married Francine, who was 40 years his junior, his son reacted angrily. Jean-Michel Cousteau's hostility towards his stepmother increased when she claimed to represent her late husband's memory.

Francine Cousteau has since become involved in several lengthy legal battles with Cousteau's family in attempts to prevent them from using the Cousteau family name, and from being involved in any way with the Cousteau Society, the non-profit organization she now heads. Speaking about the legal issues Francine called it “sad” but said she wished Jean-Michel would stop trying to make unauthorised use of the family name, exclusive control of which has been retained by Equipe Cousteau, her organisation.

“They want to capitalise on the name,” she said. “If their name was not Cousteau, nobody would know who they are. I have to put a stop to it.”

Alexandra Cousteau is the daughter of Philippe Cousteau who died working with his father in 1979 in a seaplane crash and now heads The Philippe Cousteau Foundation.

Currently, efforts to restore the Calypso to her former beauty and use her as a museum have again faltered. After years of legal battles the restoration was begun and stopped after a year because the shipyard's bill had not been paid by the Cousteau Society headed by Francine. Cousteau himself loathed the idea of turning the Calypso into a museum and once stated: “I would rather sink her than allow her to be turned into a museum...I don’t want this legendary ship to be prostituted by having people picnicking on the decks.”

Francine Cousteau is also attempting to raise money to build a successor vessel, the Calypso II.