Bernadette Chirac, the French politician and widow of former president Jacques Chirac, died on June 5, 2026, at age 93.
Born Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel in Paris on May 18, 1933, she met Jacques Chirac while both were students at Sciences Po and married him in 1956. She became closely identified with public life during his presidency from 1995 to 2007 and later served as patron of Opération Pièces jaunes, the charity supporting children in French hospitals.
She also became president of the Claude-Pompidou Foundation in 2007. Chirac had two daughters, Laurence and Claude.