Who was Marjane Satrapi? Tributes to Persepolis director after death aged 56

Born in Rasht, Iran, she became known for telling of her formative years throughout her country’s Islamic Revolution and her move to Europe in her graphic novel series Persepolis in 2000, which became an Oscar-nominated film in 2007.

Satrapi went on to direct horror-comedy The Voices, starring Ryan Reynolds, and Marie Curie biopic Radioactive, starring Rosamund Pike. She was also a novelist and activist, influencing many, with Emmanuel Macron being among those to have paid tribute.

In 2025, she was offered the French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour), the most prestigious order of merit, but declined it because of France’s attitude to Iran.

Who was Marjane Satrapi?

Satrapi grew up in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in a family of communist sympathisers and witnessed repression under the Shah’s regime before the 1979 revolution.

Life after the revolution became increasingly brutal, and Satrapi’s uncle Anoosh, a hero to her, was a political prisoner and was killed by the authorities.

At the will of her parents, Satrapi left Iran when she was 14 to study in Vienna.

Upon returning to Iran, she achieved a master’s degree and was married aged 21 but divorced her husband and fled back to Europe, settling in Strasbourg in 1994.

Persepolis, her graphic novel account of her life, was published from 2000 to 2003 in France and later in other languages around the world.

The comic charted her struggles with depression, racism, isolation, and against brutal forces in her home country.

However, Persepolis was noted for maintaining a sense of humour, with Satrapi often leaning into satire and self-deprecation, as she first experienced heavy metal concerts and smoked cigarettes with her European art school friends, a world away from Tehran.

Elysee Palace said: “With her childlike perspective, her irony, her tenderness, and her inner demons, the author created a deeply moving world with which readers identified.”

She was given French citizenship in 2006 and met her husband, the Swedish actor and producer Mattias Ripa, in Paris, where they lived until he died in 2025.

“Satrapi also championed the cause of the Iranian people and the banner of women's rights,” the Elysee Palace added.

“She was involved in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, for which she coordinated a graphic novel in support of the demonstrations in Iran.”

Films directed

After the critical and commercial success of Persepolis (the English version featuring the voices of Sean Penn and Iggy Pop) Satrapi went onto direct:

• Chicken with Plums (2011),
• La bande des Jotas (Gang of the Jotas) (2012),
• The Voices (2014),
• Radioactive (2019),
• Dear Paris (Paradis Paris) (2024)

She also wrote 12 books and could speak French, English, Swedish, German, and Italian as well as her native Persian.

Cause of death

No official cause of death has been listed. She reportedly died on Thursday, June 4, 2026.

A statement published by AFP from the family said: “Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life.”

Satrapi had dedicated her entire Instagram to a message of mourning after his death.

Tributes

French president Emmanuel Macron said: "[She was] a great artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable.”

The French National Assembly president, Yaël Braun-Pivet, tweeted: “Marjane Satrapi had turned her work into an act of freedom. With Persepolis, she had given a face and a voice to the Iranian revolution, proudly carrying the fight for women's freedom and dignity."

Valérie Pécresse, president of the Regional Council of Île-de-France, said: “Great sadness upon hearing of the passing of my friend Marjane Satrapi. She was a great artist, comics creator, painter, film-maker, but above all a passionate and committed woman.”