Colette was a French author who received a nomination for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. She is remembered for her novella Gigi, which inspired the 1958 movie and the 1973 musical of the same name. Her life and work have inspired several films, including the 2018 biographical drama film Colette, where Keira Knightley played the title role.
French-Cuban-American diarist, essayist, and novelist Anais Nin wrote several volumes of journals, erotica, novels, critical studies, essays, and short stories. Her journals and diaries are among her most studied works. She had a deep interest in psychoanalysis and studied it extensively with René Allendy and Otto Rank. Critics consider her one of the finest writers of female erotica.
French and American writer, journalist, and pianist Ève Curie was one of the daughters of scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. She was the only one in the Curie family who did not choose a career in science. She authored her mother’s biography and was actively involved with UNICEF, helping women and children in developing countries.
Olympe de Gouges was an 18th-century French playwright and political activist. Her writings on women's rights and abolitionism were popular in various countries. She was an outspoken advocate against the slave trade in the French colonies. She demanded that French women be given the same rights as French men. She was executed during the Reign of Terror.
Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novelist, illustrator, cartoonist, children's book author, and film director. Satrapi achieved international recognition in the early-2000s after releasing her critically acclaimed graphic novels. She is best known for writing and directing an animated biographical drama film titled Persepolis, which received nominations at prestigious award ceremonies, such as the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globes.
![Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/mireille-mathieu-1.jpg)
![Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/franoise-sagan-1.jpg)
![Elif Shafak Elif Shafak](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/elif-shafak-1.jpg)
Known widely as Turkey’s most popular female author, Elif Shafak is best known for her Booker-shortlisted bestseller 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. A fierce advocate for gender equality and LGBTQ rights, she is also a 3-time TEDGlobal speaker. She now lives in London, on a self-imposed exile.
![Marguerite Duras Marguerite Duras](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marguerite-duras-1.jpg)
![Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marguerite-yourcenar-1.jpg)
Belgian-born French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar, who later settled in the US, is best remembered for her award-winning works such as Mémoires d'Hadrien. She was also the first female member to be elected to the Académie Française. She used an anagram of her original last name, Crayencour, as her surname.
Hélène Cixous is a professor, poet, playwright, rhetorician, literary critic, philosopher, and French feminist writer. She is best known for writing an article titled The Laugh of the Medusa, which earned her popularity and established her as a thinker in post-structural feminism.
![Julia Kristeva Julia Kristeva](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/julia-kristeva-1.jpg)
Bulgarian-born French author and literary critic Julia Kristeva is also a professor at the University Paris Diderot. Her writings, such as the Female Genius trilogy, are centered around feminism, semiotics, and psychoanalysis. She has also pioneered semanalysis and has been recognized with honors such as Commander of the Legion of Honor.
![Annie Ernaux Annie Ernaux](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/annie-ernaux-1.jpg)
![Irene Nemirovsky Irene Nemirovsky](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/irene-nemirovsky-1.jpg)
![Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/yasmina-reza.jpg)
![Marie De France Marie De France](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marie-de-france-73388-1.jpg)
![Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jeanne-marie-leprince-de-beaumont-1.jpg)
![Alexandra David-Néel Alexandra David-Néel](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alexandra-david-nel.jpg)
Alexandra David-Néel was a Belgian–French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist, writer, and opera singer. She is best remembered for traveling to important spiritual centers, including Lhasa, Tibet in 1924, when foreigners were forbidden from entering Lhasa. Alexandra David-Néel wrote more than 30 books and her teachings influenced people like Allen Ginsberg, Benjamin Crème, Jack Kerouac, Ram Dass, and Alan Watts.
![Princess Marie Bonaparte Princess Marie Bonaparte](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/princess-marie-bonaparte-1.jpg)
![Anne Wiazemsky Anne Wiazemsky](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/anne-wiazemsky-28257-1.jpg)
![Isabelle Collin Dufresne Isabelle Collin Dufresne](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/isabelle-collin-dufresne-1.jpg)
![Simone Beck Simone Beck](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/simone-beck-1.jpg)
![Adah Isaacs Menken Adah Isaacs Menken](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/adah-isaacs-menken-1.jpg)
![Emmanuelle Arsan Emmanuelle Arsan](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/emmanuelle-arsan-25467-1.jpg)
![Suha Arafat Suha Arafat](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/suha-arafat-86759-1.jpg)
![Kathleen O'Meara Kathleen O'Meara](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/no-profile-img.jpg)
![Madame Roland Madame Roland](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/madame-roland-16925-1.jpg)
The wife of Jean-Marie Roland, Madame Roland was a leading French revolutionary and often hosted significant political meets at her salon. She often directed her husband’s political actions and was responsible for creating a rift between the Jacobin and Girondin factions. She was later arrested and guillotined.
![Virginie Despentes Virginie Despentes](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/virginie-despentes-1.jpg)
![Marie Drucker Marie Drucker](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marie-drucker-1.jpg)
![Ninon de l'Enclos Ninon de l'Enclos](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ninon-de-lenclos-73108-1.jpg)
![Élisabeth Depardieu Élisabeth Depardieu](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/lisabeth-depardieu-1.jpg)
![Moira Lister Moira Lister](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/moira-lister-94466-1.jpg)
![Fred Vargas Fred Vargas](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/fred-vargas-1.jpg)
Fred Vargas is a French archaeologist, historian, and novelist. She is best known for her work on the bubonic plague, the Black Death. In 2009, she became the first author to win three International Dagger Awards for three consecutive novels, having won the award in 2006 and 2008. In 2018, she was honored with the prestigious Princess of Asturias Prize.
![Maryse Condé Maryse Condé](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/maryse-cond-54846-1.jpg)
![Lucile Hadžihalilović Lucile Hadžihalilović](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/lucile-hadihalilovi-94503-1.jpg)
![Catherine Allegret Catherine Allegret](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/catherine-allegret-1.jpg)
![Monique Wittig Monique Wittig](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/monique-wittig-54985-1.jpg)
![Anne Of France Anne Of France](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/anne-of-france-69234-1.jpg)
![Adele Foucher Adele Foucher](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/adele-foucher-1.jpg)
![Jeanne Guyon Jeanne Guyon](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jeanne-guyon-69963-1.jpg)
![Liane de Pougy Liane de Pougy](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/liane-de-pougy-94167-1.jpg)
Liane de Pougy was a French dancer and vedette who performed at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Remembered for her captivating looks, de Pougy was widely regarded as one of Paris's most notorious courtesans. She also served as the subject for many artists like Paul César Helleu and Jean Baptiste Guth.
![Raffaëla Anderson Raffaëla Anderson](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/raffala-anderson-20723-1.jpg)
![Ouida Ouida](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ouida-55524-1.jpg)
![Anne Desclos Anne Desclos](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/anne-desclos-56249-1.jpg)
![Élisabeth Badinter Élisabeth Badinter](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/lisabeth-badinter-94490-1.jpg)
An ardent advocate of liberal feminism and also of the rights of women migrant workers, Élisabeth Badinter is an eminent French philosopher. Also a prolific author, she has published several works including L'Amour en plus ear, L'un est l'autre and La fausse route, raising contentious questions through them. Also a staunch supporter of French secularism, she supported Islamic scarf ban
![Mazarine Pingeot Mazarine Pingeot](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/mazarine-pingeot-1.jpg)
![Madame de La Fayette Madame de La Fayette](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/madame-de-la-fayette-28642-1.jpg)
![Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-svign-1.jpg)
![Iseult Gonne Iseult Gonne](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/iseult-gonne-1.jpg)