Who are the great women of France? There are so many, it is hard to list them all! But let’s start with 15 who have played important roles in the history of la belle France.

There is so much to say that I’ve divided my list into three different articles, each discussing five women. This third article covers the 20th century.

Some of the women you are probably familiar with, like the great Marie Curie, winner of not one but two Nobel Prizes. But how about Nadia Boulanger, who taught some of the century’s greatest composers? Or Simone Veil, the Holocaust survivor who became one of France’s most important political figures? And did you know that Coco Chanel, the brilliant couturière, was also a Nazi collaborator?

Read all about these and other great women of France in My French Life!

She was the most powerful woman in 16th-century Europe, ruling France for nearly 20 years. She brought haute cuisine to the country, created the Tuileries Garden in Paris, and was responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres in French history. People thought she was a sorceress who murdered her enemies. Her name is Catherine de Medici and she was one tough lady.

Read her fascinating story at Frenchly.