

Suzanne Ballivet was born in Paris, the daughter of a Montpellier photographer. After studying at the École des Beaux Arts, she began exhibiting her work in drawing shows. In 1943, Ballivet began showing her humorous drawings and later worked as an illustrator for the author Colette. She illustrated Les Chansons de Bilitis, a book of erotic French poetry written in the manner of Sappho, by Pierre Louÿs. The book was popular with lesbian readers, and would later lend its name to the Daughters of Bilitis, the first American organization for gay women.