Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais, known professionally as Jean Marais, was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 films and was the muse and lover of acclaimed director Jean Cocteau. In 1996, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to French cinema.
Jean Markale was the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer and high school French teacher who lived in Brittany. As a former specialist in Celtic studies at the Sorbonne, he researched pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. He published numerous books about Celtic civilization, particularly the place of women in Celtic culture, and Arthurian literature.
Jean Marteilhe (1684–1777) was a French huguenot writer. Condemned to the galleys for his belief in 1701 and freed in 1713, he is one of the few former gally slaves to have written a slave narrative.
Jean Marzollo was an American children's author and illustrator. She wrote more than 100 books, including the best-selling and award-winning I Spy series for children, written completely in rhythm and rhyme.
Jean Merrill was an American writer of children's books and editor, known best for The Pushcart War, a novel published in 1964. She died from cancer at her home in Randolph, Vermont, in 2012, aged 89.
Jean Meslier was a French Catholic priest (abbé) who was discovered, upon his death, to have written a book-length philosophical essay promoting atheism and materialism. Described by the author as his "testament" to his parishioners, the text criticizes and denounces all religions.