Marjane Satrapi, the Franco-Iranian graphic novelist and filmmaker best known for “Persepolis,” has died at 56. Multiple outlets report that her death was confirmed through a statement from people close to her. The South China Morning Post and Hyperallergic cite relatives saying she died “of sadness” a little over a year after the death of her husband, Mattias Ripa. Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, northern Iran, and moved to France in 1994, later gaining French nationality in 2006. “Persepolis,” first published in 2000, is widely described as a memoir-style coming-of-age work that depicts life in Iran around the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the restrictions imposed on society afterward. Several reports note that the book helped shape global understanding of Iran and influenced political storytelling in comics, while also reaching mainstream audiences through film. Other coverage also characterizes Satrapi as an outspoken critic of Iran’s theocratic government and a human-rights advocate. Her death is acknowledged internationally by major media.