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Margot Lee Shetterly

マーゴット・リー・シェッタリー

Margot Lee Shetterly

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1969-06-30 （Hampton, Virginia, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Hampton, Virginia (birthplace) → New York (lived/worked) → Mexico (lived; co-founded Inside Mexico)

Career

Occupations
writer, nonfiction author, journalist, publisher, entrepreneur
Active Years
1991-

Education

University of Virginia
McIntire School of Commerce / Commerce
Degree: BS
Period: 1987–1991
Year of Graduation: 1991
Country: United States

Awards

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Book Grant
2014
Work: Hidden Figures
Organization: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Result: 授与
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2017
Work: Hidden Figures
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Nonfiction
2017
Work: Hidden Figures
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: NAACP
Result: 受賞
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
2018
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Result: 授与
Mathical Honors
2021
Work: Hidden Figures (picture book)
Organization: Mathical Book Prizes
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race

2016 Non-fiction (biographical / historical) 368 pages

A historical nonfiction account that uncovers the lives and contributions of African-American women mathematicians at NACA/NASA who played crucial roles in the U.S. space program. The book re-evaluates their work and places it in the broader social context of race and gender in mid-20th-century America.

African-American historyre-evaluation of women's contributionshistory of sciencerace and gender
Adaptations
  • [Film] Hidden Figures / Theodore Melfi (2016)

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race (picture book)

2018 Children's picture book 40 pages

A picture-book adaptation of the adult nonfiction work tailored for young readers. It introduces the key figures and their achievements through illustrations, aiming to inspire interest in science and history.

science educationre-evaluating historyrole models

Bibliography

  • Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2016)
  • Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race (picture book, HarperCollins, 2018)

Adaptations

  • Hidden Figures (feature film adaptation, 2016)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
research-driven narrativebiographical approachsocial-historical framing
Recurring Motifs
recovering overlooked women's achievementsintersection of science, race, and genderreconstructing testimony through archives

Legacy

Hidden Figures brought widespread attention to the contributions of African-American women at NACA/NASA, influencing public memory through both the book and its film adaptation. It boosted recognition in education and media and promoted a re-evaluation of women's and minority contributions to the history of science.

Archives

  • The Human Computer Project archive (online)

In Popular Culture

  • Adapted into the 2016 feature film Hidden Figures, bringing the story to a broad popular audience.

Quotes

  • I want to tell more Black stories.
    Source: The New York Times (interview) (2016)

Trivia

  • She sold the movie rights while still working on the book.
  • She and her husband founded and published the English-language magazine Inside Mexico during their time living in Mexico.
  • Her father worked as a research scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center, so she grew up around people who worked at NASA.