Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873–1954) was a French writer. She was born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye in Burgundy, spent her childhood there, and moved to Paris as a young woman. She began her career as an artist of the Belle Époque. Her work includes novels, short stories, essays, memoirs, and letters; among her best-known works is »Chéri«. In 1945, she became the second woman elected to the Académie Goncourt, of which she was also chair for a time. She was additionally awarded the French Légion d’honneur. In 1954, she became the first woman in France to receive a state funeral.