Hortense was born in Paris, France on 10 April 1783, the daughter of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and of his wife Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie. Her parents separated shortly after her birth. In 1794, her father was executed during the Reign of Terror and her mother was imprisoned in the Carmes prison. She was later released on 6 August, due to the intervention of her best friend Thérèse Tallien. Two years later her mother married Napoleon Bonaparte.