Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir
De Beauvoir in 1968
Born	Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (1908-01-09)9 January 1908 Paris, France
Died	14 April 1986(1986-04-14) (aged 78) Paris, France
Alma mater	University of Paris (BA/MA)
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Existentialism Existential phenomenology French feminism Western Marxism
Main interests	Political philosophy Feminism Ethics Existential phenomenology
Notable ideas	"Ethics of ambiguity" Feminist ethics Existential feminism
Influences Bergson Descartes Wollstonecraft Kant Hegel Husserl Kierkegaard Heidegger Leibniz Marx Nietzsche Sartre Sade
Influenced Butler Camus Sartre Paglia Friedan Hoagland Rich Greer Kim
Signature

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (/də ˈboʊˌvwɑːr/ or /də ˌboʊˈvwɑːr/;French pronunciation: [simɔn də bovwaʁ]; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory.

De Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, autobiography and monographs on philosophy, politics and social issues. She was known for her 1949 treatise The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism; and for her novels, including She Came to Stay and The Mandarins. She was also known for her lifelong open relationship with French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.