Simone de Beauvoir (9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Despite not considering herself a philosopher, nor being recognized as one at the time of her death, she significantly influenced both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. Beauvoir authored novels, essays, biographies, autobiographies, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and social issues. Her most renowned work in feminist philosophy, The Second Sex (1949), provides a comprehensive analysis of women's oppression and stands as a foundational tract of contemporary feminism. Among her notable novels are She Came to Stay (1943) and The Mandarins (1954), with her memoirs, particularly the first volume, Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée (1958), celebrated for their warmth and descriptive power.

Beauvoir was awarded several prestigious prizes, including the 1954 Prix Goncourt, the 1975 Jerusalem Prize, and the 1978 Austrian State Prize for European Literature. Her life was not without controversy; she briefly lost her teaching job after being accused of sexually abusing some of her students. Beauvoir, together with her longtime partner Jean-Paul Sartre and other French intellectuals, campaigned for the release of people convicted of child sex offenses and advocated the abolition of age of consent laws in France.