Biography - JK Rowling

Published by massrourra

Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born on 31 July 1965, in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. She studied French and Classics at Exeter University before becoming a teacher and working in Portugal. It was here that she met her first husband, TV journalist Jorge Arantes and had her daughter, Jessica. When the marriage broke down she moved to Edinburgh, to be close to her sister, Di.

Rowling had the idea for Harry Potter whilst stuck on a train between Manchester and London, and six years later she sold the manuscript for 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone' to Bloomsbury for an undisclosed sum. Published in 1997, it won her two major awards for children's literature, and the sequels 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' and 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' followed within the next two years. She quickly became a household name, selling over 30 million copies, printed in 35 languages.

Rowling is now the richest woman in England. In 2001, she married Neil Murray and two years later, gave birth to her second son, David. The fourth book in the series, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and fifth, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' unsurprisingly stormed the bestseller charts.

2005 promises the sixth and penultimate book 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', and a third child. Rowling has a huge fan base, amongst children and adults alike. Even if you haven't read the book, you have no doubt seen the films, or at least heard the story of the young wizard and his adventures at Hogwarts School...