The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 49 times between 1901 and 2016. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honoured twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This means that 48 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2016.
Nobel Prize awarded women 1901-2015.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1963
"for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure"
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
"in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel"
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009
"for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964
"for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances"
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
"in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements"
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911
"in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
"for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014
"for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
"for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
"for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008
"for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004
"for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1995
"for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988
"for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986
"for their discoveries of growth factors"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983
"for her discovery of mobile genetic elements"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1977
"for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947
"for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015
"for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2013
"master of the contemporary short story"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2009
"who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007
"that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2004
"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"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1996
"for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1993
"who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991
"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966
"for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1945
"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"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1938
"for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1928
"principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1926
"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"
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1909
"in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings"
"for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education"
"for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work"
"for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work"
"for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work"
"for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"
"for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children"
"for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines"
"in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples"
"for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights"
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2009
"for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons"
47 photos
Youyou Tu, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2015, on stage with her family after the Nobel Prize award ceremony on 10 December 2015.
Copyright © Nobel Media 2015
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2015, presenting her gift to the Nobel Museum's collection: one of her five tape recorders, on 6 December 2015.
Copyright © Nobel Media 2015
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
May-Britt Moser, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2014, after receiving the news about the Nobel Prize.
Photo: Nancy Bazilchuk, NTNU Communication Div.
Elizabeth Blackburn, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2009, in her lab at the University of California, San Francisco.
Copyright © University of California, San Francisco 2009
Photo: Elisabeth Fall/fallfoto.com
Alice Munro, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2013.
Photo: Jenny Munro
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2011, is embraced by guests at a party at her family home in Monrovia, Liberia, to celebrate her Nobel Peace Prize.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2011
Photo: Glenna Gordon
Jane Addams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1931, at her desk, 30 October 1912.
Source: Library of Congress, USA
Photographer unknown. No known copyright restrictions.
Emily Greene Balch, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1946.
Source: Library of Congress, USA
Photographer unknown. No known copyright restrictions.
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2008.
Copyright © Institut Pasteur 2008
Linda Buck, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2004.
Copyright © Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 2011
Photo: Roland Morgan
Pearl Buck, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1938. Photo taken ca 1932.
Source: Library of Congress, USA
Photographer unknown. No known copyright restrictions.
Gerty Cori, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1947, and her husband Carl in their laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, 1947.
Source: U.S National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine Collection.
Photographer unknown.
Mairead Corrigan, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1976.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Tawakkol Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2011
Photo: Donnelly Marks
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 1964.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Gertrude B. Elion, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1988, in the laboratory.
Source: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons by-nc 2.0 UK
Marie Curie, Nobel Laureate in Physics 1903 and in Chemistry 1911, in her laboratory at the Radium Institute in Paris, France, 1921.
Copyright © Association Curie Joliot-Curie
Photographer unknown
Grazia Deledda, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1926.
Source: Institute of Czech Literature
Photographer unknown.
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003, waves to some 4,000 flag-waving children greeting her outside Oslo City Hall, Norway, before the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony on 10 December 2003.
Copyright © Pressens Bild AB 2003, SE-112 88 Stockholm,
Sweden, tel. +46-8-738 38 00. Photo: Odd Andersen
Nadine Gordimer, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1991, at the Göteborg Book Fair in Gothenberg, Sweden, 2010.
Photo: Lärarnas Nyheter, Flickr
Carol W. Greider, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2009, in her laboratory.
Copyright © JHU Gazette 2009
Photo: Will Kirk
Elfriede Jelinek, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2004. Photographed in Munich, September 2001.
Photo: G. Huengsberg
Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Irène Joliot-Curie, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 1935, and her husband Frédéric Joliot at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in the Golden Hall of Stockholm City Hall, 10 December 1935.
Copyright © Association Curie Joliot-Curie
Photographer unknown
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in front of her old high school in Monrovia, Liberia.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2011
Photo: Glenna Gordon
Selma Lagerlöf, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1909, in her garden.
Photo: Courtesy of Mårbackastiftelsen
Photographer unknown
Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1986, in her laboratory in the early 1960s.
Copyright © Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine. Photographer unknown
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2004.
Copyright © Scanpix
Photo: Simon Maina
Maria Goeppert-Mayer, Nobel Laureate in Physics 1963, being escorted to the Nobel Banquet by King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, 10 December 1963.
Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives
Photographer unknown
Doris Lessing, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2007, being interviewed at her home in London, 14 April 2008.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2008
Barbara McClintock, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1983, in her lab at Cold Spring Harbor, April 1963.
Source: National Institutes of Health. Courtesy: The Barbara McClintock Papers, American Philosophical Society
Gabriela Mistral, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1945.
Source: National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress, USA. Photographer unknown.
No known copyright restrictions.
Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1993, speaking at "A Tribute to Chinua Achebe - 50 Years Anniversary of 'Things Fall Apart'", New York City, 26 February 2008.
Photo: Angela Radulescu,
Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike
Herta Müller, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2009, after delivering her Nobel Lecture at the Swedish Academy, 7 December 2009. On her right is Professor Peter Englund, the Swedish Academy.
Copyright © The Swedish Academy 2009
Photo: Helena Paulin-Strömberg
Alva Myrdal, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1982, with German President Gustav Heinemann in Frankfurt, 27 September 1970.
Source: German Federal Archive
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1995. Photo taken 20 June 2007.
Photo: Rama.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Elinor Ostrom (middle), Laureate in Economic Sciences 2009, analyses data at a workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, November 1977.
Photo: Courtesy of Indiana University
Nelly Sachs, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1966.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Bertha von Suttner, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1905.
Source: Library of Congress, USA. Photographer unknown.
No known copyright restrictions.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1991.
Photo: Htoo Tay Zar, OpenMyanmar project
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Wislawa Szymborska, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1996.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1979, during a visit to Bonn, Germany, in 1986.
Photo: Wikimedia-Commons User Túrelio, Creative Commons
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1992, visiting the Nobel Peace Center, September 2006.
Copyright © Nobel Peace Center 2006
Photo: Kirsti Svenning
Sigrid Undset, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1928. Photo taken 27 March 1927.
Source: Carl Van Vechten photograph collection, Library of Congress, USA. Photographer unknown.
Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1976.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1997, on a tour around the Nobel Peace Center, June 2005.
Copyright © Nobel Peace Center 2005
Photo: Erlend Aas
Rosalyn Yalow, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1977.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation
Ada Yonath, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2009, in conversation with His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at the Nobel Banquet, 10 December 2009.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2009
Photo: Orasisfoto