French-Iranian artist and activist Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel “Persepolis” brought home the struggle of the Iranian people to millions around the world, has died. She was 56.
A statement from the Élysée Palace announcing her death Thursday lauded Satrapi’s work, saying her work “captivated a global audience.”
“Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure in French culture and an artist deeply committed to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim,” the Élysée said.
Satrapi was born into a politically active leftist family on November 22, 1969 in Rasht in northern Iran. She was just 10 years old when the course of her life changed after a popular uprising toppled the Iranian monarchy and established the Islamic Republic.
Women’s and girls’ rights were restricted almost instantly after 1979 and for Satrapi, this meant having to wear the veil, being separated from her male school friends, and watching the adults in her life suffer from repressions.
