Little is known for certain about her life; her tumultuous career and flamboyant lifestyle were the subject of gossip, rumour, and colourful stories in her own time, and inspired numerous fictional and semi-fictional portrayals afterwards.

Her life loosely inspired the titular character of Théophile Gautier's 1835 novel, Mademoiselle de Maupin, in which she employs multiple disguises to seduce a young man and his mistress.

When Lieutenant-General of Police Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie tried to apprehend Sérannes for killing a man in an illegal duel, the couple fled the city to the countryside.

In order to run away with her new love, she stole the body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover, and set the room on fire before escaping.

In an inn in Villeperdue she met the young Comte d'Albert who mistook her for a man: they duelled, she won, he was wounded and she nursed him back to health.

At this time d'Aubigny sought professional singing lessons from a middle-aged musician and actor named Maréchal who, impressed by her talent, encouraged her to apply to the Paris Opera.

She befriended an elderly singer, Bouvard, and he and Thévenard convinced Jean-Nicolas de Francine, master of the king's household, to accept her into the company.

The Marquis de Dangeau wrote in his journal of a performance by La Maupin given at Trianon of Destouches' Omphale in 1701 that hers was "the most beautiful voice in the world".

[9] The many biographical accounts of her life, from the eighteenth century onwards, include stories of her winning several duels with the sword—on one occasion with three noblemen in the same evening, after she kissed a young woman at a ball—and beating the singer Louis Gaulard Dumesny after he insulted the other women at the Opera.