Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian author and illustrator behind the popular graphic novel series and film Persopolis, has died at 56.
According to Associated Press, the French presidency announced the passing acclaimed cartoonist and a prominent advocate for women’s rights on Thursday, June 4.
The French presidency stated, “Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure of French culture and an artist devoted to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim.”
President Emmanuel Macron and his wife also “pay tribute to a remarkable artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable.”
News broadcaster BFM TV and other French media citing people close to the artist reported Satrapi has “died of sadness” a little over a year after the death of her husband, Swedish film producer and actor Mattias Ripa.
The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which she was a member, expressed its deep sadness in a social media statement, paying tribute to “a passionate advocate for cinema and film education” who earlier this year created a foundation to help international students come to Paris to study film.
Satrapi is best-known for her monochrome autobiographical comic book and film Persepolis, a coming-of-age tale set against the Islamic Revolution in her native Iran.
Persepolis won the Film Critics Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival in 2007 and the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008, in addition to being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2008 Oscars.
