Born in Paris in 1622 to parents who were wealthy upholsterers, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was well-educated and studied law. In 1643, he decided to reject tradition and renounce succession of his father’s position as royal upholster to go into theater. He co-founded the Illustre-Théâtre company in Paris in 1643 as an actor-manager-playwright, supposedly at the urging of his cofounder, the actor and director Madeline Béjart, who was also his lover. In 1644, Poquelin renamed himself Molière. The company struggled and failed, staging tragedies and tragicomedies, and Molière spent time in debtors’ prison. He toured France with other companies for over a decade, and his first full-length play, Le Étourdi ou les Contretemps (The Blunderer, or the Counterplots), premiered in 1655. He returned to Paris in 1658, having gained experience and expertise. He had his big break when the company performed Pierre Corneille’s Nicomède on an improvised stage at the Louvre for King Louis XIV, followed by one of Molière’s short pieces, Le Docteur Amoureux (The Amorous Doctor). At this point, his work began to receive recognition and acclaim, even earning the patronage of the king’s brother, Phillipe d’Orléans.

In 1662, at age 40, Molière married 20-year-old Armande Béjart, the daughter of his former lover Madeline.