Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed French-Iranian graphic novelist and filmmaker best known for her autobiographical work *Persepolis*, has died at age 56. Her family confirmed her death, attributing it to grief following the loss of her husband, screenwriter Mattias Ripa, over a year earlier. Satrapi rose to international fame with *Persepolis*, a black-and-white graphic novel published in four volumes between 2000 and 2003, which chronicles her childhood in Tehran during and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The book was later adapted into an animated film that earned an Oscar nomination and won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2007. In 2024, she oversaw *Woman, Life, Freedom*, a graphic anthology responding to the death of Mahsa Amini.
Satrapi's death marks the loss of a singular voice who used the graphic novel medium to humanize Iranian experience for a global audience. *Persepolis* transformed Western perceptions of Iran by telling a deeply personal story of political upheaval, exile, and resilience through the eyes of a young girl. Her work bridged art and activism, especially in her final project addressing women's rights in Iran. Tributes from President Emmanuel Macron and fellow artists underscore her cultural impact as both a literary pioneer and a symbol of resistance. Her legacy endures in classrooms, libraries, and the ongoing fight for Iranian women's freedom.