Science And Scandal

Director MARIE NOËLLE tells Pierre de Villiers how Marie Curie’s struggles against prejudice still strike a chord

Film-maker Marie Noëlle first fell under the spell of legendary scientist Marie Curie during her childhood. “When I was 12, my godmother gave me Curie’s autobiography and I was fascinated right away,” recalls the French writer-director, as we sit down for a chat at the Ciné Lumière in London.

“This woman was passionate about something that was useful to humanity, she got the man of her dreams (husband and fellow physicist Pierre Curie), and they shared the same passion. I thought it was the perfect life and wanted to do exactly the same thing and, like her, win a Nobel Prize. That book had a huge impact on my life.”

Noëlle’s admiration for the PolishFrench scientist, who carried out revolutionary work on radioactivity and became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, initially steered her towards science. She studied mathematics at Oxford before earning a Masters degree in business at the ESCP business school in London.

Revealing diaries