Maryam Mirzakhani

As a graduate student at Harvard, I had to explain quite a few times that I was allowed to attend a university as a woman in Iran.

I don't think that everyone should become a mathematician, but I do believe that many students don't give mathematics a real chance.

In particular, I am interested in understanding hyperbolic surfaces.

I did poorly in math for a couple of years in middle school; I was just not interested in thinking about it.

As a kid, I dreamt of becoming a writer. My most exciting pastime was reading novels; in fact, I would read anything I could find.