Colette

Born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, France, in 1873, she became one of the most important French writers of the early 20th century. She first gained fame through the Claudine novels, which were initially published under the name of her husband, Henry Gauthier-Villars, known as Willy.

Over time, she built an independent career as a novelist, journalist, and performer. Colette wrote with unusual freshness and precision about the body, emotion, nature, and the complicated lives of women, and she is especially remembered in English for Gigi.

Her reputation only grew with the years. She later served as president of the Académie Goncourt, and when she died in Paris in 1954, she was honored with a state funeral—the first French woman of letters to receive one.