Michèle Fitoussi

Michèle Fitoussi was born in Tunisia to French parents, and moved to Paris at the age of five, where she still lives to this day.  She graduated from the prestigious Institut des Sciences Politiques in Paris, and chose very early on to pursue a career in journalism.

She has worked for the past twenty-five years at Elle magazine. Her journalistic work has led her down many avenues; Michèle has interviewed influential decision makers and world leaders in areas as varied as politics, human sciences, sports, literature and the media. She has also remained firmly dedicated to writing about the experiences of women and their fight for equality not only in France, but also globally.

Michèle is also a screenwriter and novelist. In her first novel Superwoman (1987) sold than 400,000 copies worldwide. In 1999, she cowrote the international best-seller The Prisoner – Malika Oufkir’s story. Translated into 30 languages, An Oprah Winfrey book club pick, The Prisoner sold more than a million copies worldwide and remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 25.

She collaborated with Pierre Richard, Lambert Wilson and Sara Forestier on the screenplay for Thomas Gilou’s comedy Viktor (2009) – the adaptation of her novel.

In 2010 she wrote Helena Rubinstein – The Woman Who Invented Beauty which is currently being adapted for television.

In 2018, she published a biography of Janet Flanner, the American journalist who was The New Yorker’s correspondent in Paris from 1925 – 1975.

In 2023 she published La famille de Pantin the powerful and heart-wrenching narrative of the Tunisian Jews who were exiled in France.