The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 44 times between 1901 and 2012. 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 43 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2012.
The Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1963
Maria Goeppert Mayer
“for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure”
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903
Marie Curie, née Sklodowska
“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
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009
Ada E. Yonath
“for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
“for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935
Irène Joliot-Curie
“in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911
Marie Curie, née Sklodowska
“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
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
Elizabeth H. Blackburn
“for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
Carol W. Greider
“for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
“for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004
Linda B. Buck
“for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1995
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
“for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988
Gertrude B. Elion
“for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986
Rita Levi-Montalcini
“for their discoveries of growth factors”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983
Barbara McClintock
“for her discovery of mobile genetic elements”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1977
Rosalyn Yalow
“for the development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947
Gerty Theresa Cori, née Radnitz
“for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen”
The Nobel Prize in Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2009
Herta Müller
“who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007
Doris Lessing
“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
Elfriede Jelinek
“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
Wislawa Szymborska
“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
Toni Morrison
“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
Nadine Gordimer
“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
Nelly Sachs
“for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel’s destiny with touching strength”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1945
Gabriela Mistral
“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
Pearl Buck
“for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1928
Sigrid Undset
“principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1926
Grazia Deledda
“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
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf
“in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings”
The Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize 2011
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
“for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2011
Leymah Gbowee
“for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2011
Tawakkol Karman
“for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2004
Wangari Muta Maathai
“for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2003
Shirin Ebadi
“for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children”
The Nobel Peace Prize 1997
Jody Williams
“for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines”
The Nobel Peace Prize 1992
Rigoberta Menchú Tum
“in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples”
The Nobel Peace Prize 1991
Aung San Suu Kyi
“for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights”
The Nobel Peace Prize 1982
Alva Myrdal
The Nobel Peace Prize 1979
Mother Teresa
The Nobel Peace Prize 1976
Betty Williams
The Nobel Peace Prize 1976
Mairead Corrigan
The Nobel Peace Prize 1946
Emily Greene Balch
The Nobel Peace Prize 1931
Jane Addams
The Nobel Peace Prize 1905
Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner, née Countess Kinsky von Chinic und Tettau
The Prize in Economic Sciences
The Prize in Economic Sciences 2009
Elinor Ostrom
“for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons”