Yvette Pierpaoli (18 March 1938 – 18 April 1999) was a French humanitarian who lived in Cambodia and worked in many countries around the world. John le Carré dedicated his novel The Constant Gardener to her. Early life Pierpaoli was born in Le Ban-Saint-Martin, the fifth child of an Italian father and a French mother. She first became interested in the Far East during a geography lesson about Indochina. Her turbulent character manifested itself in an aggressive attitude towards her family and classmates, earning her the nickname "the pest". After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Pierpaoli found a job as an office clerk. During that time she became interested in amateur radio communication and was one of the first French amateur radio operators. In 1958, after a confrontation with her father, she left the family home and went to Paris. Indochinese refugees Pierpaoli came into contact with the Asian community in Paris. After a love affair with a Kampuchean medical student, she became pregnant and had a daughter. In 1967, aged 29, she traveled to Cambodia with her baby daughter. In Phnom Penh she proved to be an excellent businesswoman, selling small planes, tractors and chemicals and trading in rice. By 1974, a large number of refugees were pouring into Phnom Penh, fleeing the advance of the Khmer Rouge. Moved by their plight, Pierpaoli devoted much of her time to helping refugee children, adopting one of them and supporting many others. She became head of Continental Air Services, Inc in Cambodia, which flew regularly between Phnom Penh and Bangkok on behalf of the U.S. Embassy and other organizations. She was described by a journalist as "an adventurer with a big heart, works for the CIA." Pierpaoli denied working for the CIA, although the CIA was a source of funding for Continental. In 1974, Pierpaoli met author John le Carré in Phnom Penh. He described her as a "small, sparky, tough, brown-eyed provincial Frenchwoman" with "an absolutely non-negotiable, visceral requirement...to get food and money to the starving, medicines to the sick, shelter for the homeless, paper for the stateless...This did not in any way prevent her from being a resourceful and frequently shameless businesswoman, particularly when she was pitched against people whose cash, in her unshakable opinion, would be better in the pockets of the needy." As Phnom Penh came under siege by the Khmer Rouge, Pierpaoli moved to