Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-born graphic novelist, filmmaker and outspoken critic of Iran’s clerical regime, has died at the age of 56, her family said in a statement, according to reports on Thursday.
The family said Satrapi died of “grief” a little over a year after the death of her husband, Swedish producer, actor and screenwriter Mattias Ripa, whom they described as “the love of her life”. Ripa died on April 8, 2025.
Born in Rasht in 1969 and raised in Tehran, Satrapi’s childhood was shaped by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the social and political restrictions that followed under the Islamic Republic. She was later sent to Europe by her parents as a teenager and settled in France in 1994, becoming a French citizen in 2006.
She was best known for her monochrome autobiographical graphic novel ‘Persepolis’, which depicted her coming-of-age during and after the Iranian Revolution. The work was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated animated film, which won the Film Critics Grand Prix at Cannes in 2007 and the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008.
In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press at Cannes, Satrapi reflected on the human side of her story. “What we wanted to say is, if these people scare you, look closer: They have parents, they have lovers, they have hope, they have stories,” she said.
Iranian authorities had protested the film’s screening at Cannes, sending a letter to the French Embassy in Tehran at the time.
Beyond her artistic work, Satrapi was widely recognised for her criticism of Iran’s theocratic government and her advocacy for freedom of expression, women’s rights and democratic values. She remained an influential voice among Iranian dissidents and continued to use her public platform to challenge authoritarianism.
The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which she was a member, expressed deep sadness at her passing and paid tribute to her work in cinema and education. Earlier this year, she had also created a foundation aimed at supporting international students studying film in Paris.
In January 2025, she wrote: “Supporting the women’s revolution in Iran cannot be reduced to photos or speeches. When people are fighting for democracy, we should support them.”
She also co-ordinated the book ‘Femme, vie, liberté (Woman, Life, Freedom)’ in 2023, alongside artists and academics documenting the protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. The work highlighted repression and human rights concerns faced by women under the Iranian regime.
