Mother Teresa ( born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu ) ( August 26 , 1910 â `` September 5 , 1997 ) , was a Roman Catholic nun who started the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work with people . Mother Teresa ( 26 August 1910 - 5 September 1997 ) , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu ( pronounced ) , was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship , who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta , India in 1950 .