Nicolas Mathieu Biography: Age, Net Worth, Books, Nationality, Children, Parents, Awards

Nicolas Mathieu is a French novelist whose unflinching portraits of post-industrial life earned him the Prix Goncourt in 2018 for his second novel, Leurs enfants après eux.

His debut, Aux animaux la guerre, set in his native Vosges, was both a critical and popular success, spawning a television adaptation.

With a style grounded in realism and a keen eye for social detail, he has become one of France’s most talked-about contemporary writers.

Profile

• Full name: Nicolas Mathieu
• Date of birth: June 2, 1978
• Age: 47 years old
• Gender: Male
• Place of birth: Épinal, Vosges, France
• State of origin: Grand Est (formerly Lorraine), France
• Nationality: French
• Profession: Novelist, journalist
• Parents: Mother worked as a comptable; father was an électro-mécanicien
• Siblings: N/A
• Spouse: N/A
• Children: One son (Oscar, born 2013)
• Relationship status: Single
• Net worth: $3 million

Early Life and education

Nicolas Mathieu is now 47 years old and was born on June 2, 1978, in Épinal, a town in the Vosges region of eastern France.

Raised in a modest household—his mother worked as a comptable and his father as an électro-mécanicien—he attended private Catholic schools in Golbey before studying arts du spectacle at the University of Metz, where he completed a maîtrise with a dissertation on filmmaker Terrence Malick.

After a period working in corporate communication for the city of Paris, he moved to Nancy, balancing work as a journalist and committee-meeting clerk with his emerging literary ambitions.

Personal Life

Mathieu maintains a discreet personal life and does not publicly discuss family beyond the fact that he has a son, Oscar, born in 2013, to whom he dedicated Leurs enfants après eux; he later separated from Oscar’s mother.

He lives in Nancy and devotes much of his time to writing and cultural engagement.

Career

Mathieu’s first published novel, Aux animaux la guerre (2014), explores the fractures of a small Vosges town under economic decline.

It won the Prix Erckmann-Chatrian and the Prix Mystère de la critique, and was adapted as a six-episode series for France 3 in 2018 (directed by Alain Tasma, starring Roschdy Zem).

His second novel, Leurs enfants après eux (2018), follows a group of teenagers over four summers, examining themes of deindustrialization and youth culture; it secured France’s highest literary honor, the Prix Goncourt, and was translated into English as And Their Children After Them (2020).

In 2022, he published Connemara, a novel set against the backdrop of corporate consulting, and in 2024 released Le ciel ouvert, a collection of poetry and short texts drawn from his Instagram writings.

Awards

• 2014 Prix Erckmann-Chatrian – Aux animaux la guerre
• 2015 Prix Mystère de la critique – Aux animaux la guerre
• 2018 Prix Goncourt – Leurs enfants après eux
• 2021 Albertine Prize – And Their Children After Them

Net worth

Nicholas Matthieu’s now has an estimated net worth of approximately $3 million.

Social Media

• Instagram: @nicolasmathieu
• TikTok: N/A

Filmography

• Aux animaux la guerre (2018) – six-episode France 3 television adaptation (dir. Alain Tasma)

Books

• Aux animaux la guerre (2014)
• Leurs enfants après eux (2018)
• Connemara (2022)
• Le ciel ouvert (2024)