Sylvia Plath.

Sylvia Plath — Poet

Born 27 Oct 1932 Winthrop, United States

Died 11 Feb 1963 Primrose Hill, United Kingdom

Citizenship United States

Would Be 93 yr If Living

9 min read

Reading time

1,698

Words

Apr 16, 2026

Published

8

Film credits

67

Books

3

Awards

TL;DR

Sylvia Plath published her autobiographical novel The Bell Jar in 1963, just weeks before her suicide at age 30. Her first poetry collection The Colossus was published in 1960, and the posthumous collection Ariel established her as a leading voice in confessional poetry. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1981 for Selected Poems.

Identity & family.

KIN · 6

Names, aliases, and relatives of Sylvia Plath — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Nicknames Sivvy

PARENTS: Aurelia Plath Otto Plath
SPOUSES: Ted Hughes
CHILDREN: Frieda Hughes Nicholas Hughes
SIBLINGS: Warren Joseph Plath

At a glance.

STATS

Sylvia Plath by the numbers — life, work, and family.

30 Years lived

8 Film credits

67 Books

3 Awards

1 Marriage

2 Children

Who was Sylvia Plath?

BIOGRAPHY

Sylvia Plath — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

Born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, in 1932 to professors Aurelia and Otto Plath, Sylvia Plath published her first poem at age eight. When she was eight, her father Otto died from complications of diabetes, a loss that deeply influenced her poetry. Her mother worked strenuously to provide a superior education for Sylvia and her younger brother Warren. By the time she entered Smith College on scholarship in 1950, she had already published many poems and short stories in newspapers and magazines.

Career

In 1953, Plath was selected as a guest editor for Mademoiselle magazine, but the pressure led to a breakdown and a suicide attempt that summer. After hospitalization and electroconvulsive shock treatments, she recovered and returned to Smith College, graduating summa cum laude in 1955. She won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Cambridge University in England, where she met poet Ted Hughes in February 1956 and married him four months later. Plath’s first poetry collection, The Colossus, was published in 1960 to critical acclaim. She also wrote her autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. After separating from Hughes in fall 1962, she wrote most of the poems that would appear posthumously in Ariel, which critics have described as her masterpiece.

Personal life

Sylvia Plath married Ted Hughes in 1956, and the couple had two children, Frieda and Nicholas. The marriage was a strong creative partnership but was strained by Hughes’s infidelity and Plath’s recurring depression. After separating in fall 1962, Plath and the children lived in a flat in Primrose Hill, London. She died by suicide on February 11, 1963.

Legacy

Sylvia Plath became a feminist icon after her death, with her work foreshadowing the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Her poetry, particularly Ariel, draws praise for its emotional intensity and technical brilliance. In 1981, her Selected Poems, edited by Ted Hughes, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Plath’s novel The Bell Jar remains a touchstone for discussions of mental illness and female autonomy. She remains a major poet of the 20th century.

Filmography.

FILMS · 8

Browse the complete filmography of Sylvia Plath — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.

Movie

Great Poets: in Their Own Words

2014
Movie

Sylvia Plath: Inside the Bell Jar

2018
Movie

Ted Hughes: Stronger Than Death

2015
Movie

Voices & Visions: Sylvia Plath

1988
Movie

Lady Lazarus

1992
Movie

Sylvia Plath Reading Poems from Ariel

1962
Movie

The Lady in the Book – Sylvia Plath, Portraits

2016

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Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 3

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Sylvia Plath — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Glascock Prize
Fulbright Scholarship

Bibliography.

BOOKS · 67

Sylvia Plath's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.

Amazon Goodreads

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

Ariel

by Sylvia Plath et al.
Amazon Goodreads

The Colossus & Other Poems

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

The Journals of Sylvia Plath

by Ted Hughes et al.
Amazon Goodreads

Collected Poems

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

Crossing the Water

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

The Colossus

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

The Bed Book

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

Winter Trees

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

Prentice Hall Literature – the American Experience

by Nance Davidson et al.
Amazon Goodreads

The It-Doesn'T-Matter Suit

by Sylvia Plath
Amazon Goodreads

The Best American Short Stories 1973

by Martha Foley et al.
Amazon

Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom: a Story

by Sylvia Plath

Could not load more books.

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 4

A wall of memorable lines from Sylvia Plath — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

Oh, Satisfaction! I Don’t Think I Could Live Without It. It’s Like Water or Bread, or Something Absolutely Essential to Me. I Find Myself Absolutely Fulfilled When I Have Written a Poem, When I’m Writing One. Having Written One, Then You Fall Away Very Rapidly from Having Been a Poet to Becoming a Poet in Rest. I Think the Actual Experience of Writing a Poem Is a Magnificent One.
Poetry, I Feel, Is a Tyrannical Discipline You’ve Got to Go so Far, so Fast, in Such a Small Space That You’ve Just Got to Turn Away All the Peripherals.
I Much Prefer Doctors, Midwives, Lawyers, Anything but Writers. I Think Writers and Artists Are the Most Narcissistic People.
Every Woman Adores a Fascist.

Did you know?

FACTS · 12

Little-known facts about Sylvia Plath — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

According to a test she took in 1944, Sylvia Plath had a genius-level IQ of 166.
Nicholas Hughes, son of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, died by hanging at his home in Alaska on March 16, 2009, at age 47.
Sylvia Plath published The Bell Jar under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in England in 1963, because its autobiographical content was so frank. The novel was not published in the United States until 1971.
Nicholas Hughes studied zoology at Oxford and became a marine biologist based in Canada. Frieda Hughes is a painter and poet, and married Hungarian-born painter Laszlo Lukacs.
One of the major female poets of the 20th century, Plath’s works The Colossus, Ariel, and The Bell Jar are largely autobiographical, exploring her depression and mental illness.
Two of Plath’s poems, The Arrival of the Bee Box and Medallion, are studied at GCSE level in Britain, reflecting her recurring themes of power.
Plath’s first published work was a short story titled And Summer Will Not Come Again, written while she was in high school.
Her first nationally published piece was the poem Bitter Strawberries in the Christian Science Monitor.
Aurelia Plath was the mother of Sylvia Plath.
Plath was referenced in the music video for Alt-J’s song Deadcrush.
In 2012, Plath was featured on a U.S. postage stamp as part of the 20th Century Poets series, along with nine other poets including Elizabeth Bishop and E.E. Cummings. The stamp was issued on April 21 and had a face value of 45 cents.
In a Paris Review interview, writer James Dickey disparaged Plath by saying, Suicide attempts and then writing poetry about your suicide attempts is just pure bullshit.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 30

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Sylvia Plath.

When was Sylvia Plath born?

Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932. She was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA.
Where was Sylvia Plath born?

Sylvia Plath was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA. She later grew up in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston.
When did Sylvia Plath die?

Sylvia Plath died on February 11, 1963. She was 30 years old at the time of her death.
How old was Sylvia Plath when she died?

Sylvia Plath died at age 30. She was born in 1932 and died in 1963.
Where did Sylvia Plath die?

Sylvia Plath died in her flat in Primrose Hill, London, England, UK. She had moved there after separating from her husband Ted Hughes.
How did Sylvia Plath die?

Sylvia Plath died by suicide. She committed suicide on February 11, 1963, in her Primrose Hill flat.
What was Sylvia Plath's occupation?

Sylvia Plath was a writer and a soundtrack artist. She is best known as a poet and novelist.
What nationality was Sylvia Plath?

Sylvia Plath was American. She held United States citizenship throughout her life.
Who were Sylvia Plath's parents?

Sylvia Plath’s parents were Aurelia Plath and Otto Plath. Both were professors.
Who was Sylvia Plath married to?

Sylvia Plath was married to the poet Ted Hughes. They married in June 1956 and separated in fall 1962.
Did Sylvia Plath have children?

Yes, Sylvia Plath had two children: a daughter named Frieda Hughes, who became a painter and poet, and a son named Nicholas Hughes, who became a marine biologist.
Did Sylvia Plath have any siblings?

Yes, Sylvia Plath had one sibling, a younger brother named Warren Joseph Plath.
Where did Sylvia Plath go to school?

Sylvia Plath attended Smith College in Massachusetts and Newnham College at Cambridge University in England. She studied on a Fulbright Scholarship at Cambridge.
What awards did Sylvia Plath win?

Sylvia Plath won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry posthumously in 1981 for Selected Poems, the Glascock Prize, and a Fulbright Scholarship.
How tall was Sylvia Plath?

Sylvia Plath was 5 feet 9 inches tall, which is approximately 1.75 meters.
What was Sylvia Plath's nickname?

Sylvia Plath was sometimes called Sivvy by her family and close friends. The exact origin of the nickname is not recorded, but it was used throughout her life.
What is Sylvia Plath best known for?

Sylvia Plath is best known for her novel The Bell Jar and her poetry collections The Colossus and Ariel. These works are largely autobiographical and explore themes of mental illness and identity.
What is Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar about?

The Bell Jar is an autobiographical novel about a college student named Esther Greenwood who has a nervous breakdown and attempts suicide. The book is based on Plath’s own experiences in 1953.
What was the outcome of Sylvia Plath's suicide attempt in 1953?

In 1953, after her time as a guest editor at Mademoiselle magazine, Sylvia Plath attempted suicide and was hospitalized. She underwent electroconvulsive shock treatments and spent nearly a year in a mental hospital before recovering.
What was the name of Sylvia Plath's first published poem?

Sylvia Plath’s first published poem was Bitter Strawberries, which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor. This was her first national publication.
Did Sylvia Plath's poetry collection Ariel win any awards?

The poems in Ariel were published posthumously and are considered her masterpiece. However, the award-winning collection was Selected Poems 1981, which included poems from Ariel and other works, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
How did Sylvia Plath's father's death impact her writing?

Sylvia Plath’s father, Otto Plath, died from complications of diabetes when she was eight years old. This loss profoundly influenced her poetry, which often grapples with themes of death, loss, and father figures.
What was Sylvia Plath's IQ according to a 1944 test?

According to a test she took in 1944, Sylvia Plath had a genius-level IQ of 166. This reflected her exceptional intellectual abilities from a young age.
Why did Sylvia Plath use a pseudonym for The Bell Jar?

Sylvia Plath published The Bell Jar under the pen name Victoria Lucas because the novel was so frankly autobiographical. She did not want to upset the real people depicted in the book, and it was initially only released in England.
What happened to Sylvia Plath's son Nicholas Hughes?

Nicholas Hughes, the son of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, was a marine biologist. He died by hanging at his home in Alaska on March 16, 2009, at the age of 47.
How did Sylvia Plath's marriage to Ted Hughes end?

Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes separated in fall 1962 after Hughes’s infidelity. The marriage had been strained by personal jealousies and Plath’s deepening depression, and they never reconciled before her death.
What was the date of Sylvia Plath's wedding to Ted Hughes?

Sylvia Plath married Ted Hughes in June 1956, four months after they met at a party in Cambridge. The exact date is not provided in the source record.
Where did Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes live after marriage?

After their marriage, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes lived in Massachusetts, where she taught at Smith and Amherst Colleges, and later returned to England, where they settled in London.
What major prize did Sylvia Plath win in 1981?

In 1981, Sylvia Plath’s Selected Poems, edited by Ted Hughes, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. This was a major posthumous honor for her work.
How did Sylvia Plath's work influence feminism?

Sylvia Plath’s intimate and angry poems about the struggles of women in a patriarchal society made her a heroine and martyr of the feminist movement. Her work foreshadowed the feminist writing of the 1960s and 1970s.

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Published on April 16, 2026

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