French · 1908–1986
Simone de Beauvoir won the Prix Goncourt in 1954 for "The Mandarins," a roman à clef about Parisian intellectuals after World War II. De Beauvoir is better known for "The Second Sex" (1949), a founding text of modern feminism. Her relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre defined existentialist partnership. She wrote memoirs, essays, and fiction. She died in 1986.