Eva Illouz was born in Fez, Morocco, raised and educated in France and then later in Israel and the United States. Currently, she is a full professor in the Department of Sociology at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and Directrice d’Etudes at the EHESS in Paris.

Her research interests include sociology of culture, sociology of emotions, sociology of capitalism, and the effect of consumerism and mass media on emotional patterns. Illouz is the author of 12 books about diverse topics that include romantic love, Oprah Winfrey, culture, capitalism and the crystallization of the psychological culture during the 20th century, the industry of happiness, and the process of unloving, or withdrawing from relationships. Several of her books have won International awards (from the American Sociological Association; from the Societe Alpine de Philosophie; The Annaliese Mayer Award from the Humboldt Foundation). Her books have been translated into 17 languages.

In 2004, she was invited to deliver the Adorno lecture series in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2009 she was also awarded the “Outstanding Researcher Award” of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (given to one researcher among 1200). In 2009, Illouz was chosen by the German newspaper, Die Zeit, as one of 12 philosophers most likely to “shape the thought of tomorrow”. In 2012 she was chosen by the French magazine Le Point as a leading French woman intellectual and in 2013 received the Ann aliese Maier Award International Award for Excellence in Scholarship. In 2018 she received the EMET prize in Israel as well as the French Legion d’Honneur for her academic achievements. In addition to her scholarly work, she writes for Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Ha’aretz on various subjects such as literature, politics and social affairs.