Marjane Satrapi passed away at the age of 56. The sad news was confirmed this Thursday June 4 by his entourage at theAFP. The Franco-Iranian artist is “died of sadness a little more than a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life”said those close to him in a press release. She was particularly known for her autobiographical comic book series Persepolispublished between 2000 and 2003. A few years later, the comic was the subject of a film adaptation, which was nominated for the Oscar for best animated film and won the César for best first film and best adaptation. In each of her projects, the director could count on the unfailing support of her husband Mattias Ripa, who died a year before her at the age of 53 following a long illness.
What is the story of Mattias Ripa, the work of Marjane Satrapi?
Né in Suède in 1972, Mattias Ripa, an economist by training, met the woman who would become the woman of his life in Paris during a year of university exchange. Just a year after meeting, the lovebirds got married in Stockholm, Sweden, and never left each other’s side. He has always been Marjane Satrapi’s greatest support. While she was still a student at the Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, Mattias Ripa did not hesitate to help him in the creation of his first short film. Over the years, he even played the role of financier, producer, actor and screenwriter in his wife’s numerous projectswith whom he never had children.
Marjane Satrapi lost the love of her life a little over a year ago
Marjane Satrapi a scene from a terrible drama April 8, 2025 : the disappearance of her husband Mattias Ripa. In a press release sent to the newspapers The World et Le Figarothe author shared her “tremendous pain” to confirm the death of “the man and love of my life (…) after thirty-one years of a wonderful life together”. She then shared the details concerning the funeral of the trained economist, specifying that the ceremony would take place at the crematorium of the Père-Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Devastated by the loss of her husband, Marjane Satrapi deleted all her publications on Instagram, before immediately publishing a message indicating “I lost the love of my life Mattias”. It was not until February 2026 that the author signed her return to the social network. She was delighted with the creation of the Mattias and Marjane Ripa-Satrapi Cinema Foundation, whose main mission is “to support foreign students to come and study cinema in Paris”.
