Marie Anne Simonis

Marie Anne Simonis (1758–1831), known as "La Grande Madame", was a Belgian textile industrialist. She played an important part in the industrialization of the present Belgium.

She introduced the mechanization of the textile industry in the territory by presenting the inventions of the British textile industry, such as the Spinning Jenny. She was also known as the financier of a number of schools and hospitals. She was married in 1777 to the textile industrialist Jean-Francois Biolley (1755-1822), the owner of the Biolley-company, and took control over her spouse's company in 1799 due to his health condition.

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