Artist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, creator of 'Persepolis,' dies at 56

By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/artist-and-filmmaker-marjane-satrapi-creator-of-persepolis-dies-at-56 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Artist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, creator of 'Persepolis,' dies at 56 Arts Jun 4, 2026 11:50 AM EDT PARIS (AP) — Acclaimed Iranian-French cartoonist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, a prominent advocate for women's rights and author of "Persepolis," has died at 56, the French presidency said Thursday. "Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure of French culture and an artist devoted to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim," the French presidency said in a statement. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife "pay tribute to a remarkable artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable," the statement said. News broadcaster BFM TV and other French media reported Satrapi has "died of sadness" a little over a year after the death of her husband, Swedish film producer and actor Mattias Ripa, according to a statement from people close to the artist. The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which she was a member, expressed its deep sadness in a social media statement, paying tribute to "a passionate advocate for cinema and film education" who earlier this year created a foundation to help international students come to Paris to study film. READ MORE: Conversation with graphic novelist, director Marjane Satrapi Satrapi is best-known for her monochrome autobiographical comic book and film "Persepolis," a coming-of-age tale set against the Islamic Revolution in her native Iran. French-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi poses in front of the Olympic tapestry in Paris, France, March 12, 2024. Photo by Benoit Tessier/ Reuters "Persepolis" won the Film Critics Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival in 2007 and the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008, in addition to being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2008 Oscars. The film, which details her life in Tehran as the willful daughter of intellectual Marxists, is a reminder that Iranians are just like everyone else, Satrapi told The Associated Press in a 2007 interview in Cannes. "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 at the time protested the movie's inclusion at Cannes, sending a letter to the French Embassy in Tehran. Satrapi was born on Nov. 22, 1969, in Rasht, Iran, but her parents sent her to Vienna, Austria, in 1983 to finish her studies because of the extremism in their country following the 1979 Revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. But Satrapi, who found Austria hostile and who desperately missed her parents, returned to Iran in 1989 to attend Tehran University, where she earned a degree in visual communications. Dire