Slavenka Drakulić: key obituary facts
Is Slavenka Drakulić dead? Yes. Slavenka Drakulić died on June 20, 2026, at age 76.
Cause of death: Slavenka Drakulić's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Slavenka Drakulić known for?
She was known as Croatian journalist and novelist (born 1949).
More about Slavenka Drakulić
Born: 4 July 1949.
Place of birth: Rijeka.
Gender: female.
Occupation: journalist, novelist, essayist, writer.
Nationality: Croatia.
Education: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb.
Awards: Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding, Stefan Heym International Award.
Spouse: Richard Swartz.
Slavenka Drakulić, the Croatian journalist, novelist and essayist whose writing explored feminism, communism and post-communist life, died on June 20, 2026, at 76.
Born in Rijeka on July 4, 1949, she studied at the University of Zagreb and later worked as a staff writer for the Zagreb publications Start and Danas from 1982 to 1992, with a focus on feminist issues. Her books and essays were translated into many languages, and she received the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding and the Stefan Heym International Award.
Drakulić also spent time in Sweden in the early 1990s for political reasons during the Yugoslav wars.