Gigi opened in May of 1958 and was an instant smash. The soundtrack album quickly topped the charts and remained there for over a year. Reviews were rapturous, many of them singling out Vincente Minnelli's meticulous direction and Maurice Chevalier's charming performance. There was an outpouring of love for Chevalier from audiences, whose work received renewed critical interest. Chevalier, who once thought he would retire following Gigi, found himself more in demand than ever. He spent the next several years touring and performing his one-man show to adoring audiences. His songs from Gigi were always among his most popular numbers.

According to the book Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards, when Maurice Chevalier was presented with his honorary Academy Award in 1959 (the year in which Gigi swept all nine of its categories), the stage was filled with young actresses costumed in Cecil Beaton-designed turn-of-the-century gowns while the music to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" played. Laurence Olivier stepped out and said, "Among this bevy, you'll notice a Parisian landmark, but, unlike the Eiffel Tower, he belongs to the world." Rosalind Russell then presented Chevalier with his Oscar and Chevalier said, "Can I kiss you, Auntie Mame?"

Actress Millie Perkins (The Diary of Anne Frank) and Gary Cooper presented Vincente Minnelli with his Academy Award for Best Director. Minnelli said that it was "just about the proudest moment of my life" when he accepted.

Actress Ingrid Bergman presented the Best Picture Oscar® for Gigi.

It was Maurice Chevalier that inspired Lerner and Loewe to write the song "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" for Gigi following a meeting they had with him in Paris.

Gigi was based on a 1945 novella of the same name by French author Colette. She published the story at 70 years old without considering it terribly significant. It turned out to be the most beloved work of her career.

Gigi, the original novella, had been adapted as a play for the Broadway stage in 1951 by writer Anita Loos. It starred a then unknown actress named Audrey Hepburn in the title role. It was the role that launched her career.

Director Vincente Minnelli titled his 1974 autobiography I Remember It Well after one of the songs written for Gigi

Actress Leslie Caron titled her 2009 autobiography Thank Heaven after the song "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" from Gigi.

Actress Ina Claire was originally offered the role of Aunt Alicia. However, Claire declined to come out of retirement.

Gigi author Colette died in 1954 and did not live to see the great success of the musical film version of her work. Vincente Minnelli and Alan Jay Lerner made a point to spend time with Colette's husband and daughter, according to Minnelli's autobiography, to "absorb some of Colette's spirit through the people closest to her." As a result, they all became friends.

Director Vincente Minnelli lost 35 pounds during the filming of Gigi.

Director Vincente Minnelli's second marriage to wife Georgette ended during the filming of Gigi.

When Gigi swept all nine of its nominated categories at the Academy Awards it set an all-time record for the Academy at the time, surpassing even Gone With the Wind (1939).

Gigi lyricist and screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner originally wanted actor Dirk Bogarde to play the role of Gaston. Bogarde was interested but could not get released from a previous contractual obligation.

Leslie Caron's singing voice in Gigi was dubbed by Betty Wand.

The cat that Leslie Caron sings to in the number "Say a Prayer For Me Tonight" had to be heavily sedated in order for it to be still during the scene.

The soundtrack album to Gigi can be seen on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Ummagumma.

by Andrea Passafiume

Memorable Quotes from GIGI

"Bad table manners, my dear Gigi, have broken up more households than infidelity." – Aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans)

"Do you make love all the time, Gaston?"
"Certainly not! The only people who make love all the time are liars."
--Gigi (Leslie Caron) / Gaston (Louis Jourdan)

"Love, my dear Gigi, is a thing of beauty like a work of art, and like a work of art it is created by artists. The greater the artist the greater the art." – Aunt Alicia

"How was Monte Carlo?"
"It was a bore!"
"One has to be as rich as you are, Gaston, to be bored at Monte Carlo."
– Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold) / Gaston

"Marriage is not forbidden to us, but instead of getting married at once, it sometimes happens we get married at last." – Aunt Alicia

"I'll tell you about that blue villa, Mamita. I was so much in love with you, I wanted to marry you. Yes, it's true. I was beginning to think of marriage. Imagine, marriage--me! Oh, no! I was really desperate! I had to do something. And what I did was the soprano!"

"Thank you, Honoré. That was the most charming and endearing excuse for infidelity I've ever heard."

– Honoré Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier) / Madame Alvarez

"Madame, will you do me the honor, the favor...give me the infinite joy of bestowing on me... Gigi's hand in marriage?" – Gaston to Madame Alvarez

"I have to tell you... your parents bore me to death."
"Me too."
"But I've known them longer, so they've been boring me longer."
-Honoré / Gaston

"I've been weighing the idea of going to the country for a while."
"You mean, leave Paris?"
"Yes. Why not?"
"Why not? That's the one thing you mustn't do. Do you want people to think you're despondent? Disturbed? If you leave, they will, you know. No, no. That would be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. No, no, no. For the next few weeks, you should be out every night. Maxim's, Moulin Rouge, Pre Catalan."
"The Pre Catalan is closed."
"Open it! You must be carefree. Devil-may-care. A different girl every night. Keep them guessing who's next. Play the game. Be gay, extravagant, outrageous!"
--Gaston / Honoré

"You told Grandmamma that you wanted to take care of me."
"To take care of you beautifully."
"Beautifully. That is, if I like it. They've pounded into my head I'm backward for my age... but I know what all this means. To 'take care of me beautifully' means I shall go away with you... and that I shall sleep in your bed."
--Gigi / Gaston

"Without knowledge of jewelry, my dear Gigi, a woman is lost."--Aunt Alicia

"I would rather be miserable with you than without you." – Gigi (to Gaston)