Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at age 56

Marjane Satrapi, Franco-Iranian author of “Persepolis”, dies of “sadness” at 56

Franco-Iranian author and illustrator Marjane Satrapi, known for the book and film "Persopolis", died of "sadness", members of her entourage announced Thursday. She was 56 years old.

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The Franco-Iranian author and director Marjane Satrapi, famous for her graphic novel and her film "Persepolis", died at the age of 56, a year after the death of "the love of her life", a member of her entourage announced Thursday.

“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 press release sent to AFP.

Born in 1969 in Rasht, in northern Iran, Satrapi arrived in France in 1994 and obtained French nationality in 2006.

A staunch critic of Iran's theocratic government, Satrapi's "Persepolis" chronicles her early life in Tehran, grappling with the restrictions imposed by Iran's Islamic rulers after the 1979 revolution, before her parents sent her to Europe and she began a life in exile.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Satrapi, calling her "a great artist who made her Iranian childhood a universal tale."

Among the films she has directed is a 2007 adaptation of the graphic novel “Persepolis” – co-directed by Vincent Paronnaud – which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar.

“Even though it is a universal film, I want to dedicate this award to all Iranians,” Satrapi said at the time.

“Marjane was an extraordinary artist and a charming woman who embodied the joy of creation and the pain of exile and painful memories. We are mourning her this morning,” Cannes festival president Thierry Frémaux told AFP.

“His courage will resonate”

She was a strong supporter of protests that erupted in the Islamic Republic following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, while in detention for allegedly violating the women's dress code.

She curated a collection of graphic stories about the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement in her latest book published in English in 2024, and was among those participating in a protest in Paris that same year to mark two years since Amini's death.

“It is very important that this regime disappears,” she said of the Islamic Republic, but she stressed that this cannot happen overnight.

“I think it’s important to have hope.”

Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi Foundation hailed Satrapi as “a fearless voice for feminism, human rights and freedom.”

“She has always defended women's rights, showing solidarity with the Iranian people and amplifying the message of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement on the world stage,” we read.

“His courage will continue to resonate well beyond his lifetime.”

Also a painter, Satrapi exhibited a series of works in 2020 that she says she spent the last seven years painting between other projects, speaking to the need to isolate herself from the world with her canvases.

“I think my mental health depends on it,” she said.

She said she believes in being a feminist through her actions.

“If I show that I can do things as well or better than a man, then I have won the battle and I can be an example for the girl who comes after me,” she said.

'The love of my life'

She said last year that she had refused France's highest civilian honor, the Legion of Honor, accusing the country of "hypocrisy" over a visa policy that prevented dissidents from traveling from Iran to France.

Read more The author of “Persepolis” refuses a French award for Iran’s “hypocrisy”

“I cannot ignore what I consider to be a hypocritical attitude towards Iran, which forged the other part of my identity,” she wrote, adding that she did not want to disrespect this award and that she loved France “deeply”.

Her work has expanded beyond Iran-related stories, including “Radioactive,” a 2019 biopic about pioneering radioactivity researcher and Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, starring Rosamund Pike.

Her husband, a Swedish producer, actor and screenwriter, was a longtime collaborator.

After his death on April 8, Satrapi founded the Mattias and Marjane Ripa-Satrapi Cinema Foundation to support foreign students wishing to come to Paris to study cinema.

Since her death, Satrapi's Instagram page has consisted almost exclusively of a series of images saying "For I have lost the love of my life," along with a photo of her husband and an announcement from the foundation.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)