Jean-Dominique Bauby (April 23 1952 – March 9, 1997) was a well-known French journalist and author and editor of the magazine ELLE.

On December 8, 1995 at the age of 43, Bauby suffered a stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid. This rare condition is called Locked-in Syndrome.