Edmonde Charles-Roux was a renowned French writer, born on April 17, 1920, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, to a family of diplomats and politicians. Her father, Francois Charles-Roux, was a former French ambassador to Czechoslovakia, and her paternal grandfather, Jules Charles-Roux, was a businessman and politician.
Charles-Roux's early life was marked by her involvement in World War II, where she served as a volunteer nurse in the French Foreign Legion and later in the Resistance. She was wounded at Verdun while bringing aid to a legionnaire and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre.
After the war, Charles-Roux joined the staff of the women's weekly magazine Elle in 1946 and later worked for the French edition of Vogue, becoming its editor-in-chief in 1954. During her tenure, she democratized luxury and gave access to innovative artists, writers, and designers, connecting fashion with other forms of creativity.
Charles-Roux's literary career was marked by her novels, including Oublier Palerme, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1966 and was adapted into a film in 1990. She also wrote photo stories on the lives of Gaston Defferre, the mayor of Marseille, and Coco Chanel.
Charles-Roux was a member of the Académie Goncourt and its president from 2002 to 2010. She was awarded the rank of Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur in 2010 and was part of the Commission that recommended a candidate for the post of Director of the French Academy in Rome, Villa Medici.
Throughout her life, Charles-Roux was recognized for her contributions to French literature and culture. She died on January 20, 2016, at the age of 95, in Marseille, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering writer and editor.
