Iranian cartoonist Marjane Satrapi, creator of 'Persopolis', dies aged 56

The Iranian-French artist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi has died aged 56, according to a statement by her family and friends sent to French media outlets.

Satrapi was known for her graphic novel Persopolis, which charts the life of a girl being raised in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The semi-autobiographical novel was later turned into an animated film, helmed by Satrapi herself, which was premiered at Cannes in 2007.

Satrapi and her creative partner Vincent Paronnaud earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature for their work on the film.

“Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life," a statement published by friends and family of the cartoonist said.

Ripa, a Swedish national, died in April 2025, aged 53.

A critic of the Iranian government, the artist backed the "Woman, Life, Freedom" mass protests that followed the death of an Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody in 2022, and published a collection of graphic novel style essays under the same title about the movement.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed Franco-Iranian artist, filmmaker, and author of the internationally celebrated graphic novel Persepolis who died at the age of 56.

Marjane Satrapi was a fearless voice for feminism, human rights, and… pic.twitter.com/qKPcQv3uIM

— Narges Mohammadi | نرگس محمدی (@nargesfnd) June 4, 2026

Satrapi became a French citizen in 2006 and was critical of the country's purported dual approach to the Iranian government.

In 2025, she turned down the Legion d'Honneur, the country's most prestigious award, over the French government's "hypocrisy" in allowing Iranian government-linked figures to enter the country while denying visas to critics of the Islamic Republic.