Brigitte Macron

Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux was born in Amiens, in France's Somme department, and was the youngest of six children. Her parents, Simone and Jean Trogneux, were third-generation owners of the Amiens chocolatier Jean Trogneux, a family business founded in 1872. She attended Catholic schools, graduated with distinction, earned a secondary school teaching qualification in literature and French, and received a Master of Arts degree.

In 1982, she became press officer for the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Chamber of Commerce before entering education. She taught French and Latin at Collège Lucie-Berger in Strasbourg during the 1980s and later taught at Lycée La Providence in Amiens after returning there in 1991. In 2007, she moved to Paris and taught at Lycée Saint-Louis de Gonzague until stopping in 2015. She also taught Frédéric and Jean Arnault, the sons of business executive Bernard Arnault, at that school.

Brigitte Macron met Emmanuel Macron in 1993 while she was teaching at Lycée La Providence and running its theatre workshop. He was a student in her daughter Laurence's class. They worked together on adapting Eduardo De Filippo's play The Art of Comedy for a school production and developed romantic feelings. The relationship attracted controversy because Emmanuel Macron was 15 when they met, while Brigitte was his teacher, married, and more than twice his age.

Brigitte had married banker André-Louis Auzière in June 1974, and they had three children, Sébastien, Laurence, and Tiphaine. She and Auzière divorced in January 2006. Brigitte married Emmanuel Macron in Le Touquet on 20 October 2007, and she became stepmother to his family relationship with her three children. The couple's age difference has remained a recurring focus of public attention.

Brigitte Macron made an unsuccessful independent run for a seat on the Truchtersheim city council in 1989. It was her only attempt to run for elected office. She later became involved in Emmanuel Macron's political career, attending meetings and organising dinners to help him build professional connections after he became finance minister in 2014. From 2016, she joined his presidential campaign and played an active role in his 2017 election effort.

After Emmanuel Macron became president, a transparency charter defined the role of the spouse of the head of state. Although a proposed official first lady title and dedicated budget were abandoned after opposition to the plan, the charter set out Brigitte Macron's responsibilities, including supporting presidential activities, representing France at international meetings, and working with charities and organisations. Her stated areas of focus include disability, education, health, culture, child protection, and gender equality.

In September 2018, she initiated the LIVE, or Institute of Vocations for Employment, project, which supports and trains unemployed young adults over the age of 25 who are not in employment or training. She chairs the LIVE association and leads its teaching committee. The first institute opened in Clichy-sous-Bois in September 2019, and she sometimes gives master classes in theatre and literature. In June 2019, she became chair of the Hospitals of Paris-Hospitals of France Foundation, which works to improve the daily lives of patients, carers, and healthcare workers.

Brigitte Macron has faced sustained online harassment and conspiracy theories about her gender and sexuality. A rumour that she was secretly a transgender woman began circulating online after Emmanuel Macron's election in 2017 and later spread through social media, political networks, and international influencer circles. The claims were described as unsupported, and Brigitte Macron said that the allegations had affected her personally and had repercussions for her family.

The Macrons and Brigitte's brother Jean-Michel Trogneux filed legal actions against prominent figures who promoted the claims, including US commentator Candace Owens. In France, ten people went on trial in 2025 over alleged online harassment connected to the conspiracy theory. Her public profile has also generated other controversies, including criticism of her clothing and the use of her image in fraudulent online advertising.