Rigoberta Menchú

1959 – present · age 67^[1][2]

Activism & Social Change

Fun Facts About Rigoberta Menchú

• Rigoberta Menchú was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize at the time she won it in 1992, and its first Indigenous recipient.^[1]
• Menchú did not write her famous book I, Rigoberta Menchú herself: in 1982 she told her life story to Venezuelan anthropologist Elizabeth Burgos, who transcribed it.^[1]
• In 2007, Menchú became the first Maya Indigenous woman ever to run in a Guatemalan election, standing for president.^[1]
• When anthropologist David Stoll disputed parts of her life story, the Nobel Committee declined to revoke Menchú's prize, saying it was awarded for her advocacy, not her testimony.^[1]
• Since 2003, Menchú has been president of a company offering low-cost generic medicines, and she has pushed to shorten patents on some AIDS and cancer drugs.^[1]
• In 2006, Menchú co-founded the Nobel Women's Initiative with fellow Nobel Peace laureates including Wangari Maathai, Jody Williams, and Shirin Ebadi.^[1][3][4]
• Rigoberta Menchú was alive at the same time as Niels Bohr — their lives overlapped for 3 years (1959–1962).^[1][2][5][6]
• Rigoberta Menchú shares a birthday with Richard Nixon: both were born on January 9.^[1][2][7][8]

Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.^[1]

Contemporaries

Noam Chomsky

67 yr overlap

Wole Soyinka

67 yr overlap

Dalai Lama

67 yr overlap

Woody Allen

67 yr overlap

Francis Ford Coppola

67 yr overlap

Bob Dylan

67 yr overlap

Billie Jean King

67 yr overlap

Aung San Suu Kyi

67 yr overlap

Steven Spielberg

67 yr overlap

Oprah Winfrey

67 yr overlap

Ai Weiwei

67 yr overlap

Haruki Murakami

67 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Rigoberta Menchú

When was Rigoberta Menchú born?

Rigoberta Menchú was born on January 9, 1959, and is alive today.

How old is Rigoberta Menchú?

Rigoberta Menchú was born on January 9, 1959, and turned 67 on January 9, 2026.

What is Rigoberta Menchú known for?

Rigoberta Menchú is known for: Indigenous rights leader, Nobel Peace Prize. Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.

Who was alive at the same time as Rigoberta Menchú?

Rigoberta Menchú's closest contemporary was Noam Chomsky. Their lives overlapped for 67 years.