The French marquise Émilie du Châtelet was, during her lifetime, a mathematician and natural philosopher known far beyond the borders of France. This is remarkable, considering that she and her female contemporaries were denied access to higher educational institutions during the Enlightenment. The present work addresses the question of which educational pathways to mathematical and scientific knowledge were significant for du Châtelet. In the context of educational and scientific history, the analysis of her biography reveals a remarkable woman who, even in her parental home, had access to the academic elements of knowledge and the courtly sciences influenced by Fontenelle. Thanks to her unwavering desire for knowledge, she mastered mathematics, physics, and natural philosophy through guidance, textbooks, readings, and correspondence.