Irène Joliot-Curie

Born into a dynasty of scientific brilliance, Irène Joliot-Curie didn't just inherit a famous last name; she inherited a penchant for glowing things and groundbreaking discoveries. One might say she took her parents' work, gave it a little nudge, and watched it fission into further recognition.

Together with her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, she artificially created radioactive isotopes, a feat that earned them the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This proved immensely useful in medicine and research, making them pioneers in a field that would later also discover how to really ruin a perfectly good day in Hiroshima.

While her scientific lineage was impeccable, her Jewish lineage was, much like an un-ionized atom, entirely neutral. She was raised in an intellectual, secular household, more concerned with the periodic table than the Torah. So, if you were hoping for another Nobel-winning Jew, keep looking.