Photo: Moshe Milner / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What strikes me most about Simone de Beauvoir is her refusal to call herself a philosopher, even as she reshaped how the world thinks about gender. The Second Sex still anchors debates nearly a lifetime after she wrote it, which is the truest measure of a thinker. I admire that she treated her own life as the material of her work, writing her relationships and contradictions as openly as her arguments. The Goncourt and Jerusalem prizes confirm the literary craft, but for me her real legacy is courage: she insisted that freedom is something you build, never something you inherit. I find her endlessly bracing to read.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Simone de Beauvoir
- Name (Japanese)
- シモーヌ・ド・ボーヴォワール
- Reading
- しもーぬ・ど・ぼーゔぉわーる
- Born
- January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- political philosopher / journalist / novelist / autobiographer / essayist
2. Background
- University
- University of Paris
Awards & achievements
- 1954 Prix Goncourt
- 1975 Jerusalem Prize
- 1978 Austrian State Prize for European Literature
- honorary doctorate of Concordia University
- 1981 Benjamin E. Lippincott Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Mandarins | — | |
| Notable work | When Things of the Spirit Come First | — | |
| Notable work | Pyrrhus and Cineas | — | |
| Notable work | The Second Sex | — | |
| Notable work | She Came to Stay | — | |
| Notable work | Force of Circumstance | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Simone de Beauvoir born?
January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986.
Where is Simone de Beauvoir from?
Simone de Beauvoir is from Paris, France.
What does Simone de Beauvoir do?
Simone de Beauvoir works as political philosopher, journalist, novelist, autobiographer, essayist.
What is Simone de Beauvoir known for?
Notable works include The Mandarins, When Things of the Spirit Come First, Pyrrhus and Cineas.
Journalist — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.