Visit this site to read a brief story of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to be awarded the 2014 Fields Medal, similar to the Nobel Prize in the world of mathematics. One particularly interesting point is that she originally wanted to be a writer as a young girl and did not really enjoy mathematics until high school! Her story is so inspiring, and it is incredibly sad that she passed away from cancer at the young age of 40 in July 2017. Still, we continue to move forward as a mathematics community.
First female recipient of the Fields Medal (world’s top mathematics prize)
