Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras, was born on 4 April 1914 in Gia-Dinh (a former name for Saigon), French Indochina (now Vietnam). She passed away on 3 March 1996 in Paris, France. Duras was a renowned French writer, film director, and a key figure in the Nouveau roman French literary movement, although she did not belong definitively to any group.

Born to French parents who moved to Indochina following a governmental campaign, Marguerite faced hardship early in life when her father fell ill and returned to France where he died. Her mother, left in Indochina with three children, invested poorly in a Cambodian property, influencing Duras' later work. Her early life, including a teenage affair with a Chinese man, inspired multiple memoirs and fictional works.

At 17, Duras moved to France to study law and later political sciences. She became an active member of the French Communist Party and worked in an office representing French Indochina. During World War II, she was both a Vichy government worker and a French Resistance member, with her husband Robert Antelme being deported for resistance activities.

She adopted the surname Duras in 1943, after a place associated with her father, and authored numerous influential works including the best-selling "L'Amant" (The Lover), which won the Goncourt Prize in 1984 and was adapted into a successful film. Her other major works include "Moderato Cantabile", "Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein", and "India Song".

Duras also made significant contributions to film, writing the script for "Hiroshima mon amour" (1959), which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Her narrative style was known for its experimental nature, often using voice-over to convey stories.

Despite her professional success, Duras struggled with personal challenges, including alcoholism. She died of throat cancer at the age of 81 and is buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.