Michel Houellebecq is a well-known French novelist, actor, singer, and director. While his first work was a biographical article on horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, Houellebecq rose to attention as a novelist.
In 1994, he began his career as a novelist with Whatever (French: Extension du domaine de la lutte). His second work, Atomised, released in 1998, brought him international acclaim while also involving him in some controversy.
Throughout his more than three-decade career, the famed novelist has received several awards as an author. Despite living the life of a public celebrity for decades, Houellebecq maintains his personal life out of the spotlight. So, today, we’re delving into some previously undisclosed facts about Houellebecq’s life.
The Mother of Michel Houellebecq Is A Doctor
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Michel Thomas Houellebecq was born to Lucie Ceccaldi and Rene Thomas. His mother is an Algerian doctor of Corsican heritage, while his father is a ski instructor and mountain guide.
When it comes to his birthday, Michel was born on February 26th, although his birth year is confused between 1956 and 1958. According to many internet tabloids, Houellebecq was born in 1956 on the French island of Reunion.
Michel lived in Algeria with his maternal grandmother.
Michel Houellebecq thereafter moved to Algeria to live with his maternal grandmother. He lived there from the time he was five months old until he was five years old.
According to sources, when Michel was six years old, his parents sent him to live with his paternal grandparents in France. Meanwhile, his mother, Lucie, went to Brazil to live a hippy lifestyle with her then-boyfriend.
Michel adopted the maiden name of his grandmother.
Houellebecq spent the majority of his youth in France with his paternal grandmother. Michel chose his grandmother’s maiden name, Houellebecq, as his pen name after starting his writing career.
Houellebecq’s Schooling
While living with his grandmother in France, Houellebecq pursued formal schooling. He attended Meaux High School before moving on to Lycee Chaptal in Paris. In 1975, Houellebecq enrolled at the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon. He received his diploma in 1980.
Michel Houellebecq had three marriages.
Houellebecq is a successful novelist who is regarded as one of the world’s best. However, he has failed to match his success in his personal life, having gone through a pair of unsuccessful marriages while in his mid-60s.
After graduating, he married his first wife (unidentified) in the early 1980s. The married couple soon had a kid, a boy, but they couldn’t stay married for long and divorced a few years later. After his divorce, Houellebecq felt despondent and required some time to recover.
Houellebecq married his second wife, Marie Pierre Gauthier, in 1998. The pair had a good marriage for over a decade until splitting in 2010. The ex-husband and ex-wife, on the other hand, are not known to have children together.
Houellebecq is currently married to Qianyun Lysis Li. In September 2018, he married his third wife, a Chinese lady. Li, who is 34 years his junior, was a student of his work.
From Atomised, he achieved international fame.
Whatever, Houellebecq’s debut novel, was published in 1994 and sold well. However, with the publication of his second novel, Atomised, the French novelist gained international acclaim. The work was released in French as Les Particules élémentaires in 1998.
The novel was translated and published as Atomised in the United Kingdom, and The Elementary Particles in the United States. It was a watershed moment in his career, propelling him to national and worldwide prominence. Meanwhile, Houellebecq’s novel got him into conflicts.
Houellebecq’s sophisticated blend of brutally honest societal analysis and erotic visuals drew criticism. The tale depicts two half-brothers’ emotional battles against their circumstances in modern society.
Michel Houellebecq’s Predicted Atomised Novel’s Future
Houellebecq foresaw the influence of his second novel, Atomised, on his career a few years before it was released. In a 1996 interview with Andrew Hussey, while writing on the novel, he commented, “It will either destroy me or make me famous.”
Michel Houellebecq, French author, New Yorker
The novel did make Houellebecq famous, but it also caused considerable controversy. The novel awarded Houellebecq the Prix Novembre in 1998. Houellebecq also won the International Dublin Literary Award in 2002.
He has appeared in films.
In addition to his work as a novelist, Houellebecq has appeared in a few films. His first acting role occurred in 2014 when he played himself in The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq. Michel appeared in Near Death Experience the same year.
Saint-Amour in 2016, To Stay Alive: A Method in 2016, and Thalasso in 2019 are among Michel’s other film credits.
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