Author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Cl�zio was born in Nice, France on April 13, 1940. He studied at Bristol University from 1958 to 1959 and finished his undergraduate degree at the Institut d'etudes Litteraires in Nice. In 1964, he earned a master's degree from the University of Aix-en-Provence and wrote a doctoral thesis in 1983 on Mexico's early history for the University of Perpignan. He has taught at numerous universities throughout the world and has written around 30 books including novels, essays, and short stories. He was awarded the 1963 Theophraste Renaudot prize and the 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature.