Frédéric Bourdin, known as ‘The Chameleon,’ has gained notoriety for his peculiar escapades and numerous false identities over the years.
From roles as a lecturer and tiger healer to a businessman and an affluent English tourist, the Frenchman has certainly lived up to his moniker, showcasing an unwavering commitment to his various impersonations.
His intricate deceptions have been meticulously crafted and highly convincing, allowing him to settle in numerous locations across Europe and the US.
In one instance, while in his 30s, Bourdin successfully deceived social workers and students into believing he was a teenage orphan, attending school for several weeks before his true identity was revealed.
“He was an impostor, for sure, but what a marvellous actor,” commented Claire Chadourne, the headmistress of the school Bourdin had attended. “He seemed a little older than his classmates, two or three years at the most. But 31, I still can’t believe it!”
However, Bourdin faced significant criticism and anger from authorities after he falsely claimed to be the missing son of a Texan couple.
For several months, a mother believed that the then-23-year-old brown-eyed Bourdin was her blue-eyed son, Nicholas Barclay, who had vanished in 1994.
In 1997, Bourdin was sentenced to six years in jail in the US after pleading guilty to passport fraud and perjury.
Upon his release in 2003, he resurfaced in Grenoble, in the south-eastern Alps, purporting to be Léo Balley, a French boy who had disappeared in 1996.
A DNA test, however, debunked Bourdin’s claims.
In 2004, he was deported from Spain after authorities discovered he was posing as Ruben Sanchez Espinosa, a teenager who supposedly lost his mother in the Madrid train bombings.
Despite the emotional distress his actions have caused others, Bourdin has defended his behavior.
When questioned about his actions, he stated: “I have only usurped the identities of two disappeared children. Otherwise, 99 percent of the names are completely made up.”
Bourdin has made appearances on television shows to discuss his exploits, suggesting they were a means of seeking the attention he lacked during his childhood. He mentioned that he never knew his father and was abandoned by his mother.
Bourdin confessed: “I want to be loved, quite simply. I will stop at nothing to be listened to, to have people look after me.”
He has since reportedly pledged to ‘never impersonate anyone again’.