Female Nobel Prize Laureates

Nobel Prizes

Female Nobel Prize Laureates

Year	Laureate	Country	Category	Rationale
1903	Curie, Marie Marie Curie (shared with Pierre Curie)	France	Physics	"in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel"
1905	von Suttner, BerthaBertha von Suttner	Austria–Hungary	Peace	Honorary President of Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne, Switzerland; Author of Lay Down Your Arms.
1909	Lagerlöf, SelmaSelma Lagerlöf	Sweden	Literature	"in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings"
1911	Curie, MarieMarie Curie	France	Chemistry	"for her discovery of radium and polonium"
1926	Deledda, GraziaGrazia Deledda	Italy	Literature	"for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general"
1928	Undset, SigridSigrid Undset	Norway	Literature	"principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages"
1931	Addams, JaneJane Addams (shared with Nicholas Murray Butler)	United States	Peace	Sociologist; International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
1935	Joliot-Curie, IrèneIrène Joliot-Curie (shared with Frédéric Joliot-Curie)	France	Chemistry	"for their synthesis of new radioactive elements".
1938	Buck, Pearl S.Pearl S. Buck	United States	Literature	"for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces"
1945	Mistral, GabrielaGabriela Mistral	Chile	Literature	"for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world"
1946	Balch, Emily GreeneEmily Greene Balch (shared with John Raleigh Mott)	United States	Peace	Formerly Professor of History and Sociology; Honorary International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
1947	Cori, Gerty TheresaGerty Theresa Cori (shared with Carl Ferdinand Cori)	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen"]
1963	Goeppert-Mayer, MariaMaria Goeppert-Mayer (shared with J. Hans D. Jensen)	United States	Physics	"for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure"
1964	Hodgkin, Dorothy CrowfootDorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin	United Kingdom	Chemistry	"for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances"
1966	Sachs, NellyNelly Sachs	Sweden	Literature	"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength"
1976	Williams, BettyBetty Williams	United Kingdom	Peace	Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People)
1976	Corrigan, MaireadMairead Corrigan	United Kingdom	Peace	Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People)
1977	Yalow, RosalynRosalyn Yalow	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones"
1979	Teresa, MotherMother Teresa	India	Peace	Leader of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta.
1982	Myrdal, AlvaAlva Myrdal (shared with Alfonso García Robles)	Sweden	Peace	Former Cabinet Minister; Diplomat; Writer
1983	McClintock, BarbaraBarbara McClintock	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for her discovery of mobile genetic elements"
1986	Levi-Montalcini, RitaRita Levi-Montalcini (shared with Stanley Cohen)	Italy, United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of growth factors"
1988	Elion, Gertrude B.Gertrude B. Elion (shared with James W. Black and George H. Hitchings)	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment"
1991	Gordimer, NadineNadine Gordimer	South Africa	Literature	"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity"
1991	Suu Kyi, Aung SanAung San Suu Kyi	Burma	Peace	"for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights"
1992	Menchú, RigobertaRigoberta Menchú	Guatemala	Peace	"in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples"
1993	Morrison, ToniToni Morrison	United States	Literature	"who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality"
1995	Nüsslein-Volhard, ChristianeChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard (shared with Edward B. Lewis and Eric F. Wieschaus)	Germany	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development"
1996	Szymborska, WisławaWisława Szymborska	Poland	Literature	"for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality"
1997	Williams, JodyJody Williams (shared with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines)	United States	Peace	"for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines"
2003	Ebadi, ShirinShirin Ebadi	Iran	Peace	"for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children"
2004	Jelinek, ElfriedeElfriede Jelinek	Austria	Literature	"for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power"
2004	Maathai, WangariWangari Maathai	Kenya	Peace	"for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"
2004	Buck, Linda B.Linda B. Buck (shared with Richard Axel)	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system"
2007	Lessing, DorisDoris Lessing	United Kingdom	Literature	"that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"
2008	Barré-Sinoussi, FrançoiseFrançoise Barré-Sinoussi (shared with Harald zur Hausen and Luc Montagnier)	France	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus"
2009	Blackburn, ElizabethElizabeth Blackburn (shared with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak)	Australia and United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
2009	Greider, Carol W.Carol W. Greider (shared with Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak)	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
2009	Yonath, Ada E.Ada E. Yonath (shared with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz)	Israel	Chemistry	"for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"
2009	Muller, HertaHerta Müller	Germany and Romania	Literature	"who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"
2009	Elinor OstromElinor Ostrom (shared with Oliver E. Williamson)	United States	Economics	"for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons"
2011	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf	Liberia	Peace	"For their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work"
	Leymah Gbowee	Liberia
	Tawakel Karman	Yemen