Born in Lyon on 4 November 1933, Beccaria was born into a noble family from Périgord.[2] She was the younger sister of French Resistance fighter Hélie de Saint Marc. She was educated at the Institution des Dames du Sacré-Cœur in Bordeaux and the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bordeaux.[1] She served as Secretary-General of the women's wing of Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne from 1953 to 1956, where she met her husband, editor Yves Beccaria [fr].[3] She was closely linked with Catholic Rural Youth [fr] as a consultant with IFOCAP [fr] until 1965.
In 1970, Beccaria joined La Maison de la bonne presse in 1970, which merged into Bayard Presse.[4] In 1966, she co-founded the magazine Pomme d'Api [fr] with Anne-Marie de Besombes following inspiration from her husband.[5] She also participated in the creation of youth magazines such as Okapi [fr], J'aime lire, Astrapi [fr], Phosphore [fr], and Popi [fr].[6] In 1994, she became director-general of the Bayard group before serving on its management board. She also served as vice-president of the board of directors of Orphelins apprentis d'Auteuil [fr] and served on the advisory board on sexual abuse of the Bishops' Conference of France. She was later named Commander of the Legion of Honour.[7]
Beccaria died in Paris on 3 October 2024, at the age of 90.[8]
