Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer, intellectual, and philosopher. She is best known for her 1949 work The Second Sex, a groundbreaking feminist text.
In fact, Beauvoir was born in Paris on January 9, 1908 to wealthy parents who had no intention of having more children after she was born. As a result, she was raised primarily by her grandmother and her father’s sister during her early childhood years. Her father died when she was seven years old, leaving his family destitute until his mother came to their rescue.
In addition, Beauvoir attended the Sorbonne and received her degree in philosophy in 1929 at the age of 21. She continued her studies at the University of Berlin where she met her first husband, Jean-Paul Sartre. They married on June 3, 1929 but their relationship would eventually dissolve into conflict over their differing views on socialism and feminism.
Although Beauvoir began writing as early as 1929 with her first novel She Came To Stay being published in 1943, it wasn’t until 1949 that she became famous with The Second Sex being released in French followed by an English translation two years later. The book explores how gender discrimination affects women’s lives.
