Caryle Murphy, the former Washington Post correspondent who won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting from Kuwait under Iraqi occupation, has died at the age of 79. She died on October 19, 2026, and her husband, Herb Howe, told the Post the cause was pulmonary fibrosis.
Reporting from occupied Kuwait
Murphy was in Kuwait when Iraqi forces invaded in August 1990. She stayed on as the occupation began, moving around the city, reportedly at times disguised as a jogger, and getting her dispatches out through the US embassy. Her coverage of the invasion and occupation, and of the Gulf War that followed, won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. She also received the George Polk Award for the same work.
Cairo, Riyadh and books on Islam
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 16, 1946, Murphy also served as the Post‘s correspondent in Cairo. After leaving the paper she reported from Saudi Arabia for outlets including The Christian Science Monitor, GlobalPost and The National, and later worked as a senior writer and editor at the Pew Research Center.
She wrote two books: Passion for Islam (2002), about the rise of Islamist movements in Egypt, and A Kingdom’s Future (2013), on the hopes of young Saudis.
Lung transplant and memorial
According to her death notice, Murphy received a lung transplant and lived for more than eight years with the new lung. A memorial Mass is planned for November 16 at Holy Trinity Church in Washington, and her family has suggested donations to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation or the Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Center.