Georges Simenon Biography: Wife, Books, Ethnicity, Parents, Religion, Height, Awards, Death

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon, professionally known as Georges Simenon, was a Belgian novelist and short-story writer whose extraordinary output made him one of the 20th century’s most prolific and commercially successful authors, best remembered for creating the iconic detective Inspector Jules Maigret.

He penned nearly 500 novels—including 75 featuring Maigret—along with memoirs and countless short stories that sold over 500 million copies worldwide, blending gritty crime tales with profound psychological “romans durs.”

Simenon drew from his Walloon roots, extensive travels across Europe, Africa, and beyond, and personal upheavals like wartime refugee work and troubled marriages to craft semi-autobiographical narratives rich in human frailty and atmosphere.

Profile

• Full Name: Georges Joseph Christian Simenon
• Stage Name: Georges Simenon
• Born: 13 February, 1903
• Died: 4 September, 1989
• Age: 122 years old
• Birthplace: Liège, Wallonia, Belgium
• Nationality: Belgian
• Occupation: Novelist, short-story writer, and creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret
• Height: Unknown
• Parents: Désiré Simenon, Henriette Simenon
• Siblings: Christian Simenon
• Spouse: Régine Renchon (Tigy) (m. 1923–1950), Denyse Ouimet (m. 1950–1964)
• Children: Marc Simenon, Johnny Simenon, Marie-Jo Simenon, Pierre Simenon
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $100 million

Early Life and Education

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was born on February 13, 1903, in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, to father Désiré Simenon, an insurance clerk, and mother Henriette Simenon.

He grew up alongside brother Christian in a modest Walloon household steeped in local culture. He attended Collège Saint-Louis in Liège during early years but left school at 16 to support the family after his father’s death, diving straight into journalism at the Gazette de Liège.

Simenon freelanced crime reports, studied forensic science at the University of Liège in 1920-21 for authenticity, and self-published his debut novel Au Pont des Arches in 1921.

He moved to Paris at 19, churning out pulp under 16 pseudonyms while immersing in bohemian life. He is of Walloon heritage, with no public religion details beyond cultural Catholicism.

Career

Georges Simenon exploded onto Paris’s literary scene in 1922, producing over 200 pulp novels by 1933 under pseudonyms like Georges Sim, typing furiously to millionaire status while honing police procedural craft.

He debuted Maigret in Pietr-le-Letton (1931), launching 75 novels and 28 stories about the intuitive Parisian inspector through 1972, alongside 136 psychological novels exploring guilt and desire.

Simenon traveled extensively, visiting brother Christian in Belgian Congo for anti-colonial articles and novels like Tropic Moon (1933), then settled in La Rochelle by 1932 with wife Tigy and housekeeper Boule.

Wartime found him organizing aid for 55,000 Belgian refugees in 1940 as commissioner, experiencing bleeding into postwar works amid controversy over his Vichy-era neutrality.

Early hits like The Strange Case of Peter the Lett hooked readers with Maigret’s empathy over forensics, cementing his global fame.

Simenon relocated to the U.S. in 1945, writing feverishly in Connecticut and Arizona—Pedigree (1948) drew from Liège youth—before divorcing Tigy and marrying Denyse Ouimet in 1950, producing three more children amid family strains.

He shifted to Switzerland in 1955, slowing output but deepening introspection in memoirs like When I Was Old (1970) and Intimate Memoirs (1981), post his daughter’s suicide.

Maigret adaptations proliferated in film and TV, while romans durs like Dirty Snow and The Man Who Watched Trains Go By earned critical nods for psychological depth. African novellas in African Trio (1979) reflected travels, and he granted rare interviews to figures like Truman Capote.

This peak fused commercial dominance with literary ambition, selling millions annually.

Georges Simenon retired from novels in 1973 after 400 books, focusing on memoirs that chronicled his obsessions, dictating to secretaries at 60 pages daily in Lausanne until health declined.

Maigret’s influence spans Rowan Atkinson’s ITV series to French classics, with stage like The Red Barn amplifying reach. Over 500 million copies sold sustain royalties to heirs, while archives in Lausanne preserve drafts.

Psychological romans durs inspire modern noir, blending Liège grit with universal humanity. His method—immersive trances evoking characters—revolutionized genre fiction, leaving detectives forever changed by ordinary evil.

Social Media

Georges Simenon does not have any active social media accounts.

Personal Life

Georges Simenon was married twice and had four children. He married Régine “Tigy” Renchon (an artist) as his first wife in March 1923. They divorced in June 1950.

He later married his secretary and mistress, Denyse Ouimet (sometimes spelled Denise O’imet), the day after his divorce from Régine was finalized, on June 22, 1950.

They separated permanently in 1964 but never divorced, and she eventually lived in a psychiatric clinic.

Simenon had a total of four children: one son with his first wife and two sons and one daughter with his second wife—Marc Simenon (born 1939), Jean Simenon (also referred to as John), Marie-Georges Simenon (known as Marie-Jo) (born 1953, committed suicide in 1978 at age 25), and Pierre Simenon (born 1959).

He died at age 86 on September 4, 1989, in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had made his home after years of living abroad, including time in the U.S.

Net Worth

Georges Simenon has an estimated net worth of $100 million at death through unparalleled sales of 500 million books, including Maigret series royalties that persist via adaptations.

Pulp pseudonyms built early fortune by 1933, joined by romans durs advances and U.S. lecturing; memoirs and African works added streams.