Marilyn French (née Edwards; November 21, 1929 – May 2, 2009) was an American radical feminist author, renowned for her extensive work on women's rights and the feminist movement. She gained widespread fame with her second book and first novel, the 1977 work The Women's Room. This novel follows the lives of Mira and her friends in 1950s and 1960s America, detailing the experiences of women during that era, including Val, a militant radical feminist.

French attended Hofstra University (then Hofstra College), where she received a master's degree in English in 1964. She married Robert M. French Jr. in 1950, and the couple divorced in 1967. Later, she pursued her studies at Harvard University, earning a Ph.D. in 1972. Subsequently, she became an instructor at Hofstra University.

In her influential work, French argued that women's oppression is an intrinsic part of the male-dominated global culture. Her book, Beyond Power: On Women, Men and Morals (1985), offers a historical examination of the impacts of patriarchy worldwide.