List of female Nobel Laureates

The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Karolinska Institute, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals who make outstanding contributions in the fields of chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine.^[1] They were established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, which dictates that the awards should be administered by the Nobel Foundation. Another prize, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, was established in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, for contributors to the field of economics.^[2] Each prize is awarded by a separate committee; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Economics, the Karolinska Institute awards the Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Prize in Peace.^[3] Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a cash prize that has varied throughout the years.^[2] In 1901, the winners of the first Nobel Prizes were given 150,782 SEK, which is equal to 7,731,004 SEK in December 2007. In 2008, the winners were awarded a prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK.^[4] The awards are presented in Stockholm in an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.^[5]

As of 2008, there have been 754 male Nobel laureates and 35 female laureates.^[6] The first woman to win a Nobel Prize was Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel.^[7][8] Curie is also the only woman to have won multiple Nobel Prizes; in 1911, she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Curie's daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, making the two the only mother-daughter pair to have won Nobel Prizes.^[6] Twelve women have won the Nobel Peace Prize, more than any other category.^[7] Although a woman has won each of the five Nobel Prizes, all Nobel laureates in Economics have been men.^[9]

Laureates

Year	Image	Laureate	Country	Category	Rationale
1903		Curie, MarieMarie 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"[8]
1905		von Suttner, BerthaBertha von Suttner	Austria–Hungary	Peace	Honorary President of Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne, Switzerland; Author of Lay Down Your Arms.[10]
1909		Lagerlöf, SelmaSelma Lagerlöf	Sweden	Literature	"in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings"[11]
1911		Curie, MarieMarie Curie	France	Chemistry	"for her discovery of radium and polonium"[12]
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"[13]
1928		Undset, SigridSigrid Undset	Norway	Literature	"principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages"[14]
1931		Addams, JaneJane Addams	United States	Peace	Sociologist; International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.[15]
1935		Joliot-Curie, IrèneIrène Joliot-Curie	France	Chemistry	"for their synthesis of new radioactive elements"[16]
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"[17]
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"[18]
1946		Balch, Emily GreeneEmily Greene Balch	United States	Peace	Formerly Professor of History and Sociology; Honorary International President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.[19]
1947		Cori, Gerty TheresaGerty Theresa Cori	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen"[20]
1963		Goeppert-Mayer, MariaMaria Goeppert-Mayer	United States	Physics	"for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure"[21]
1964		Hodgkin, Dorothy CrowfootDorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin	United Kingdom	Chemistry	"for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances"[22]
1966		Sachs, NellyNelly Sachs	United States	Literature	"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength"[23]
1976		Williams, BettyBetty Williams	United Kingdom	Peace	Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People)[24]
1976		Corrigan, MaireadMairead Corrigan	United Kingdom	Peace	Founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People)[24]
1977		Yalow, RosalynRosalyn Yalow	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones"[25]
1979		Teresa, MotherMother Teresa	India	Peace	Leader of Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta.[26]
1982		Myrdal, AlvaAlva Myrdal	Sweden	Peace	Former Cabinet Minister; Diplomat; Writer.[27]
1983		McClintock, BarbaraBarbara McClintock	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for her discovery of mobile genetic elements"[28]
1986		Levi-Montalcini, RitaRita Levi-Montalcini	Italy, United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of growth factors"[29]
1988		Elion, Gertrude B.Gertrude B. Elion	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment"[30]
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"[31]
1991		Suu Kyi, Aung SanAung San Suu Kyi	Burma	Peace	"for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights"[32]
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"[33]
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"[34]
1995		Nüsslein-Volhard, ChristianeChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard	Germany	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development"[35]
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"[36]
1997		Williams, JodyJody Williams	United States	Peace	"for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines"[37]
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"[38]
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"[39]
2004		Maathai, WangariWangari Maathai	Kenya	Peace	"for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"[40]
2004		Buck, Linda B.Linda B. Buck	United States	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system"[41]
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"[42]
2008		Barré-Sinoussi, FrançoiseFrançoise Barré-Sinoussi	France	Physiology or Medicine	"for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus"