Margret Rey Biography

Fast Facts

• Her "Curious George" books have sold over 27 million copies
• Founded the Curious George Foundation in 1989, an organization meant to help children prevent animal cruelty
• Attended Bauhaus in Dessau, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and the University of Munich, where she studied art
• Left her native Hamburg, Germany, when Hitler began his rise to power in order to work as a photographer in London
• Traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1935, where she eventually founded an advertising agency
• She and H․A․ Rey escaped Paris on homemade bicycles carrying an early draft of the "Curious George" manuscript shortly before a Nazi invasion
• Known for she H․A․ Rey's children's classic "Curious George" book series, which has been adapted into both movies and television series
• Collaborated with her husband, illustrator H․A․ Rey, on many children's books
• Her name was not originally included on the cover of "Curious George," though she helped with both the story and illustrations
• Donated the entire literary estate of she and her late husband to the de Grummond Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi