Born Anne Louise Germaine Necker in Paris, France, she was the daughter of the prominent Swiss statesman Jacques Necker, who was the Director of Finance under King Louis XVI of France, and Suzanne Curchod. She was raised in an academic environment as a result of the intellectual salon her mother hosted in her home. After her marriage to Baron de Staël-Holstein, the Swedish ambassador, Anne Louise established her own salon as a center for leading intellectuals.
She embarked on a writing career under the name Madame de Staël that, after she published a book praising German culture, caused Napoleon Bonaparte to ban her from Paris. She moved to Coppet near Lake Geneva, where she established a new salon and continued to write.
Madame de Staël died in Paris, France.
Some of Mme de Staël's works: