Eve Curie was born on December 6, 1904, in Paris, France. The younger of two daughters to Nobel Prize-winning scientists Pierre and Marie Curie, Eve was only sixteen months old when her father died. She was raised and educated by Polish governesses and then attended the College Sevigne, receiving bachelor of science and bachelor of philosophy degrees.
In 1921 Eve toured the United States with her mother and sister, occasionally standing in as Marie’s representative at official functions. Four years later Eve gave her first performance as a concert pianist. She played concerts in France and Belgium, and wrote reviews of music, movies, and plays. In 1937 Eve completed a biography of her mother, Madame Curie, which received the 1937 National Book Award for nonfiction.
During World War II (1939-1945), Eve worked for the Ministry of Information in Paris as the coordinator of women’s war activities. After the fall of France, she moved to London to work for the cause of Free France and made seven lecture tours to the United States. Because of her work for the Allies, she lost her French citizenship in 1941 but went on to serve as a war correspondent for a number of American newspapers, covering battle fronts in Burma, China, Libya, and Russia. She then enlisted in the Fighting French Corps and became an officer in the women’s division of the army.
Eve was the co-publisher of Paris-Presse from 1944 to 1949. She served as a special adviser to the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 1952 to 1954, and on November 19, 1954, she married Henri Labouisse, U.S. ambassador to Greece. Labouisse became the director general of the United Nations Children’s Fund and accepted the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize on its behalf. He died in March 1987.
Besides Madame Curie, Eve has written one other book, Journey Among Warriors (1943). She has received numerous honors and awards, including the Chevalier Legion of Honor of France, the Polonia Restituta, and the Croix de Guerre. She also has been awarded several honorary doctorates.
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