Since the Nobel prizes were first awarded in 1901, few women have been recognized in the categories of physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine.
The academies that award the prizes have acknowledged that women are under-represented among Nobel laureates, and have changed their nomination procedures to diversify the pool of winners.
But men still dominate the 125-year history of the awards.
In this year’s Nobel run-up, shines a spotlight on female winners — and invites you to test your knowledge. This page covers data on Nobel prizewinners up to 2025; it will be updated with this year’s winners.
Final challenge
How many female science Nobel laureates can you name?
The first two prize entries have been filled in to get you started. Enter a surname or first name to make a guess. Click any revealed laureate to read about their work. You have ten minutes to answer while this page is visible.
- Prize:
- Physics, 1903
- Citation:
- Research on radiation phenomena
- Prize:
- Chemistry, 1911
- Citation:
- Discovery of radium and polonium
Born in Poland as Maria Skłodowska, she later became a French citizen. She coined the term ‘radioactivity’ and shared half of the 1903 physics Nobel with her husband Pierre Curie for studies in radiation. She won the 1911 chemistry prize for her discoveries of polonium and radium (her husband died in 1906).
Nobel prize profileCredit: Henri Manuel. Nobel Foundation archive.
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 1935
- Citation:
- Synthesis of new radioactive elements
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1947
- Citation:
- Discovery of catalytic conversion of glycogen
Not yet found
- Prize:
- Physics, 1963
- Citation:
- Discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 1964
- Citation:
- X-ray determinations of biochemical structures
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1977
- Citation:
- Development of radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1983
- Citation:
- Discovery of mobile genetic elements
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1986
- Citation:
- Discovery of growth factors
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1988
- Citation:
- Discoveries of important principles for drug treatment
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 1995
- Citation:
- Discoveries in genetic control of early embryonic development
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2004
- Citation:
Not yet found
- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2008
- Citation:
- Discovery of human immunodeficiency virus
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2009
- Citation:
- Discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2009
- Citation:
- Discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 2009
- Citation:
Not yet found
- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2014
- Citation:
- Discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2015
- Citation:
- Novel therapy against malaria
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- Prize:
- Physics, 2018
- Citation:
- Method for generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 2018
- Citation:
- Directed evolution of enzymes
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- Prize:
- Physics, 2020
- Citation:
- Discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our Galaxy
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 2020
- Citation:
- Development of a method for genome editing
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 2020
- Citation:
- Development of a method for genome editing
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- Prize:
- Chemistry, 2022
- Citation:
Not yet found
- Prize:
- Physics, 2023
- Citation:
- Experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2023
- Citation:
- Nucleoside base modifications enabling effective messenger RNA vaccines
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- Prize:
- Physiology or medicine, 2025
- Citation:
- Discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance