Rita Levi-Montalcini defied every obstacle put in her path — gender discrimination, antisemitic laws, wartime occupation — and never stopped doing science. Born in Turin, Italy in 1909, she went on to discover Nerve Growth Factor, a breakthrough that transformed our understanding of the brain and earned her the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She lived to 103, serving as a Senator for Life in Italy and founding programs to support women in science across Africa. This close-up guide brings her story to K–5 students through grade-differentiated reading, a visual timeline, and discussion questions aligned to Georgia GSE, Common Core ELA, and New York State ELA standards.