Sophie de Vilmorin (1931–2009)

Sophie de Vilmorin was born in Paris, France, to a distinguished family, a daughter of Roger de Vilmorin and Pauline de Bellet. Her destiny crossed that of André Malraux, 30 years her senior, thanks to her aunt Louise de Vilmorin, who lived with the writer.

Following Louise's death in 1969, Malraux asked Sophie to share his life. After helping him to publish posthumously a book of her aunt's poems, Solitude, ô mon éléphant, Sophie became Malraux's companion in 1970. She watched over his final years, giving him the serenity he needed to compose his late masterpieces.

She typed his last eight books and accompanied him on travels to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Japan, and Haiti. After Malraux's death in 1976, she worked for many years at the publishing firm Editions du Moniteur before creating a small company to print school textbooks. In 1999, Sophie de Vilmorin published her only book, the memoir Aimer encore (To Love Again).