French-Iranian author, illustrator and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, best known for her acclaimed graphic memoir Persepolis and its Oscar-nominated film adaptation, has died in Paris aged 56.
Family members and close friends announced her death on Wednesday, saying she died "of sadness" just more than a year after the death of her husband, Swedish producer, actor and screenwriter Mattias Ripa last April.
"Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life," they said in a statement.
Born in Rasht, Iran, on November 22, 1969, Satrapi became one of the most internationally recognised voices of the Iranian diaspora through her writing, artwork and outspoken criticism of Iran's theocratic government.
She achieved worldwide acclaim with Persepolis, her autobiographical graphic novel that chronicled her childhood in Tehran during and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, before her parents sent her to Europe to continue her education. The work offered a deeply personal account of life under increasing political and social restrictions.
In 2007, Satrapi co-directed an animated adaptation of Persepolis with Vincent Paronnaud. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize, and went on to receive Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, introducing Satrapi's work to an even wider audience.
She later collaborated with Paronnaud on Chicken with Plums, adapted from another of her graphic novels, before moving into live-action filmmaking. Her directing credits included the dark comedy The Voices starring Ryan Reynolds and the 2019 Marie Curie biopic Radioactive, featuring Rosamund Pike in the lead role.
Beyond her artistic achievements, Satrapi remained a prominent advocate for freedom of expression and women's rights in Iran. Following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and the emergence of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, she became one of its most visible international supporters.
Her final graphic work, Woman, Life, Freedom, was published in 2024 and documented the protests that swept Iran following Amini's death.
Satrapi moved to France in 1994 and became a French citizen in 2006. Last year, she declined France's Legion of Honour, citing what she described as the country's "hypocrisy" in its dealings with Iran and visa policies affecting dissidents.
A series of recent posts on Satrapi's Instagram account appeared to reflect her grief following her husband's death, spelling out the message: "For I lost the love of my life".
She is survived by family and friends across France, Iran and the wider international artistic community, which has begun paying tributes to her.
