Molière

Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in Paris and later known by the stage name Molière, he became one of the most celebrated writers in French literature. He worked not only as a playwright, but also as an actor and the head of a theatrical troupe, building his reputation through years of performing before winning major success in Paris.

His best-known plays include Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, The School for Wives, The Miser, and The Imaginary Invalid. Again and again, he used comedy to expose pretension, greed, hypocrisy, and social foolishness, giving his characters enough truth that audiences could laugh at them—and sometimes at themselves.

Molière died in 1673, shortly after a performance of The Imaginary Invalid. His plays never disappeared from the stage, and they remain central to French theater and widely read around the world for their wit, energy, and fearless sense of satire.