The first woman to win a Nobel Prize in science was Marie Curie. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, shared with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, for their pioneering research on radioactivity. Later, in 1911, Curie won a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of polonium and radium. Curie's groundbreaking work not only advanced the field of science but also opened doors for women in STEM fields.