Marjane Satrapi, Creator Of Persepolis, Dies Aged 56

Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Marjane Satrapi, persepolis, rip

Marjane Satrapi, Creator Of Persepolis, Dies Aged 56

Marjane Satrapi, graphic novelist, painter, film director and creator of Persepolis, has died at the age of 56

Published Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:24:09 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Marjane Satrapi has died in Paris at the age of 56. Creator of the extraordinary million-plus selling graphic novel Persepolis, detailing her young life in Iran and her move to Europe, as well as the movie adaptation, which she directed, she is one of the most prominent comic book creators of the 21st century as well as one of the more notable filmmakers.

Born Marjane Ebrahimi on the 22nd of November, 1969, in Rasht, Iran, Marjane Satrapi grew up in Tehran in a progressive, politically engaged family of communist sympathizers. Her early life was shaped by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War, experiences she later chronicled with honesty, humour, poignancy and simplicity. Sent abroad at age 14 for safety, she studied in Vienna at the French Lycée, returning to Tehran in 1988 to graduate from the Tehran School of Fine Arts, then left again to study at the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts, before eventually settling in France, where she became a citizen and built her career in comic books, which she initially self-published. Joining the Vosges workshop, a hub for a new generation of talent, from Christophe Blain to Joann Sfar, Marjane Satrapi rose to international prominence with the 2000 publication of the collected Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, followed by sequels that together formed a coming-of-age memoir in graphic novel form. The black-and-white comics blended intimate autobiography with sharp social and political commentary, humanising the complexities of Iranian society, exile, identity, and resilience, as well as educating the world as to a more accurate portrayal of Iran as well as what was lost in the revolution. It covered the 1979 revolution, the hostage crisis at the American embassy, ​​the grip of the Revolutionary Guards, fundamentalism, Marjane's exile, the racism she experienced in Austria, the difficulties of integration, her introduction to anarchism, heartbreak, depression, and her return to Iran after the war against Iraq. Translated into dozens of languages, Persepolis became a worldwide bestseller and a staple in schools and universities. In 2007, she co-directed the animated film adaptation of Persepolis, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Jury Prize, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. Her other notable works include the graphic novel Chicken with Plums, adapted into a 2011 film she directed solo, Embroideries, Radioactive, a 2019 biopic about Marie Curie starring Rosamund Pike based on Lauren Redniss' comic book, and The Voices. She also contributed to collective projects such as Woman, Life, Freedom, which was published to support Iranian protests. After Persepolis had been frequently banned in the USA, a story that itself was turned into a graphic novel, and riots in Tunisia were spurred by a TV station airing the Persepolis movie, in 2023 she chose to stop creating comic books entirely. Marjane Satrapi turned to painting, creating portraits of women, exhibited in several Parisian galleries, and also designing a triptych for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which was reproduced as a tapestry by the Gobelins Manufactory.

A fierce advocate for freedom of expression, women's rights, and secularism, Marjane Satrapi was an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime. She declined France's Legion of Honour in 2025, citing the country's perceived hypocrisy in its dealings with Iran. Her work earned numerous other honours, including Spain's Princess of Asturias Award. Marjane Satrapi is remembered not only for her artistic talent,, but for her courage, wit, and unwavering humanism and a fight for free speech. She died in Paris today, at the age of 56. With a close friend/family ember stating she had "died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life". Freench President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to "a great artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable"

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