Napoleon's most famous sister is remembered for an aspect of her personality that was often an embarrassment to the Emperor. She liked to display her stunning body. A cast was made of her left breast for the express purpose of making a gold drinking vessal out of it (A copy of the original is on display at Odiot's in Paris, a wonderfully useful and controversial tribute to a most charming breast).

Although it went against the social mores of upper class behavior, Pauline claimed she posed nude for the sculptor Antonio Canova. Asked how she could do this, she responded, "Oh, it was easy, the heat was on in the studio." Canova's statue of her, as a reclining Venus Victrix, had a mechanical device underneath so that it could rotate and be admired, was probably a design of Pauline's. The excuse of art wasn't always required; Pauline would often appear scantily dressed in front of guests. We can only speculate that Pauline's exhibitionism was done for ego gratification, shock, and a good laugh.