Marie Curie was a scientist.
Marie Skłodowska Curie ( [ ˈkjʊri , _ kjʊˈriː ] [ kyʁi ] ; [ kʲiˈri ] ; 7 November 18674 July 1934 ) , born Maria Salomea Skłodowska ( [ ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska ] ) , was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity . In 1891 , aged 24 , she followed her older sister Bronisława to study in Paris , where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work . The Nobel Prize in Chemistry ( Nobelpriset i kemi ) is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry .