Colette

French novelist (1873-1954) · France · Writers · Died at 81

Colette is read about 1,455 times a day, in 63 languages.

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She wrote under her husband's name until she took it back - and kept writing. Colette's novels unpacked desire and independence decades before the culture caught up, and Gigi became the work that outlasted them all.

Writers Writer / Author Fiction Journalism Screenwriting Theatre Movies Literature

A life in dates

1954Died3 August 19541951Paulée de Meursault PrizeAward1936“You do not notice changes in what is always before you.”In their wordsMes Apprentissages (1936)Read the whole statement

1932“We only do well the things we like doing.”In their wordsPrisons and Paradise (1932)Read the whole statement

1926“I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer.”In their wordsLa Fin de Chéri (The Last of Cheri) (1926) (tr. Roger Senhouse)Read the whole statement

“If one wished to be perfectly sincere, one would have to admit there are two kinds of love - well-fed and ill-fed. The rest is pure fiction.”In their wordsLa Fin de Chéri (The Last of Cheri) (1926) (tr. Roger Senhouse)Read the whole statement

1920“Life as a child and then as a girl had taught her patience, hope, silence; and given her a prisoner's proficiency in handling these virtues as weapons.”In their wordsChéri (1920), pt. 2 (tr. )Read the whole statement

1903“When she raises her eyelids it's as if she were taking off all her clothes.”In their wordsClaudine and Annie (1903)Read the whole statement

1873Born28 January 1873

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Colette - photo

25 portretten van Méaty Fleuron, Willy en Manon Collection Nilsson - Nouvelle Série (serietitel op object), RP-F-2001-7-1444-11-8

Atelier Wikisource Autrices des Nuits de la Lecture 2025 (1)

In their own words 10

Colette

10 statements, newest first

By means of an image we are often able to hold on to our lost belongings. But it is the desperateness of losing which picks the flowers of memory, binds the bouquet.
1936, Mes Apprentissages (1936), Own words
You do not notice changes in what is always before you.
1936, Mes Apprentissages (1936), Own words
We only do well the things we like doing.
1932, Prisons and Paradise (1932), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Paulée de Meursault Prize1951

Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour

Family

Father Jules Colette

Colette

Partners

Child Colette de Jouvenel

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About this person

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was born 28 January 1873 in France and built her career across multiple lanes: novelist, mime, actress, journalist. Early on she published under "Colette Willy," her husband's surname, before claiming the single name that stuck. Her 1944 novella Gigi gave her lasting reach beyond France - it became a 1958 film and a 1973 stage production. In France, her short story collection The Tendrils of the Vine held its own ground. She died 3 August 1954, having spent decades writing about women, appetites, and the terms of freedom.

Country

France

In common with Colette

Ingrid BergmanAlso in Journey to Italy (1954)

George SandersAlso in Journey to Italy (1954)

Roberto RosselliniAlso in The Seven Deadly Sins (1952)

Max OphülsAlso in Divine (1935)

MusidoraAlso in La vagabonda (1918)

Claude Autant-LaraAlso in The Game of Love (1954)

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