Marie Curie Had it All

Marie Curie, the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1903), discovered the element radium and identified, along with her husband, the phenomenon of radioactivity. She was also, the January 1, 1904 issue of Femina wants you to know, a model of work-life balance. Despite her newfound celebrity, adorable six-year-old daughter Irene “cares very little about the existence of radium.” Happily, “her mother cares little to teach her about it. She’s a charming mother. Alongside her serious scientific preoccupations and her intellectual curiosity for the unfathomable, her exquisite personality is entirely devoted to this charming daughter, whom she cherishes with infinite love.”