François Olivennes (born 4 January 1959) is a French obstetrician and gynaecologist specialising in

in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from ...

(IVF) and reproductive medicine.

Early life

François Olivennes grew up in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He is the son of

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and child psychoanalyst Maria Landau, and psychiatrist turned

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Armand Olivennes. He is the eldest of three. Both of his younger brothers,

Denis Olivennes Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

and Frédéric Olivennes work in the French media industry.

Career

François Olivennes graduated from French Medical school in 1985. In 1992, he became medical director in the public hospital IVF units of the Béclère Hospital in

Clamart Clamart () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: ''bas Clamart'', the historical centre, and ''petit Clamart'' with urban ...

until 2002 when he left for the Cochin hospital in Paris. He has a PhD in Biology of Reproduction and was appointed as Professor in Biology of Reproduction in 2000. He has been an invited speaker in more than 150 international meetings. In 2006, he left the public hospital system and opened a private practice in Paris' 17th arrondissement. He is also the general team co-ordinator at the IVF centre Eylau la Muette.

Published work

Journals

Olivennes is the author or co-author of more than 150 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He was a member of the executive committee of

ESHRE The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) was founded in 1985 by Robert Edwards (University of Cambridge) and Jean Cohen (Paris), who felt that the study and research in the field of reproduction needed to be encouraged and ...

and has been on the editorial board of ''

Fertility and Sterility ''Fertility and Sterility'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. It was established in 1950 and is an official journal of several societies (American Society f ...

'' and ''RBM'' online.

Books

Olivennes has written and edited several books in the field of

Assisted Reproductive Technology Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and cryopreservation of ga ...

. His books for the general public include: * ''N’attendez pas trop longtemps pour faire un enfant'' (Don't wait too long to have a child), with Laurence Beauvillard.

Odile Jacob Odile Jacob is a French publisher who founded ''Les Éditions Odile Jacob'' in the middle of the 1980s. She is also a trained scientist, studying the workings of the brain, the mind and thought. She is a member of Le Siècle.Frédéric Saliba, 'L ...

(2010) * ''Tout ce qu’il faut savoir avant une grossesse'' (Everything you need to know before getting pregnant), with Laurence Beauvillard.

Marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

(2011) * ''Tout ce que les femmes ont toujours voulu savoir sur le sexe et ont osé demander'' (Everything women always wanted to know about sex and finally dared to ask), with Sophie Bramly.

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

(2012) * ''Faire un enfant au 21ème siècle'' (Having a child in the 21st century),

Groupe Flammarion Groupe Flammarion () is a French publishing group, comprising many units, including its namesake, founded in 1876 by Ernest Flammarion, as well as units in distribution, sales, printing and bookshops ( La Hune and Flammarion Center). Flammarion ...

(2013)

Personal life

Olivennes married English actress

Kristin Scott Thomas Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and the Olivi ...

in 1987 and had three children, Hannah (born 1988), Joseph (born 1991), and George (born 2000). The couple divorced in 2005. He currently lives in Paris. In 2011,

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

personally awarded him the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for his work in the medical field.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olivennes, Francois 1959 births Living people People from Boulogne-Billancourt French obstetricians Knights of the Legion of Honour Paris-Sud University alumni Physicians from Paris French medical writers