J. K.

Rowling is the author of the hugely popular

Harry Potter books.

Dates: July 31, 1965 --

Also Known As: Joanne Rowling, Jo Rowling

J. K. Rowling's Childhood

J.K. Rowling was born at Yate General Hospital

as Joanne Rowling (with no middle name) on July

31, 1965 in Gloucestershire, England. (Although

Chipping Sodbury is often mentioned as her

birthplace, her birth certificate says Yate.)

Rowling's parents, Peter James Rowling and

Anne Volant, met on a train on their way to join

the British navy (the navy for Peter and the

Women's Royal Naval Service for Anne). They

married a year later, at age 19. At age 20, the

young couple became new parents when Joanne

Rowling arrived, followed by Joanne's sister,

Diane "Di," 23 months later.

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When Rowling was young, the family moved

twice. At age four, Rowling and her family

moved to Winterbourne. It was here that she

met a brother and sister who lived in her

neighborhood with the last name Potter. At age

nine Rowling moved to Tutshill. The timing of the

second move was clouded by the death of

Rowling's favorite grandmother, Kathleen.

Later, when Rowling was asked to use initials as

a pseudonym for the Harry Potter books to

attract more boy readers, Rowling chose "K" for

Kathleen as her second initial to honor her

grandmother.

See Also: Who Was Dr. Seuss?

At age 11, Rowling began attending the Wyedean

School where she worked hard for her grades and

was terrible at sports. Rowling says that the

character Hermione Granger is loosely based on

Rowling herself at this age.

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At age 15, Rowling was devastated when given

the news that her mother had become seriously

ill with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune

disease. Instead of ever entering remission,

Rowling's mother grew increasingly sick.

Rowling Goes to College

Pressured by her parents to become a secretary,

Rowling attended the University of Exeter

beginning at age 18 (1983) and studied French.

As part of her French program, she lived in Paris

for a year.
After college, Rowling stayed in London and

worked at several jobs, including at Amnesty

International .

The Idea for Harry Potter

While on a train to London in 1990, having just

spent the weekend apartment-hunting in

Manchester, Rowling came up with the concept

for Harry Potter. The idea, she says, "simply fell

into my head." Pen-less at the time, Rowling

spent the remainder of her train-ride dreaming

about the story and began to write it down as

soon as she arrived home.

Rowling continued to write snippets about Harry

and Hogwarts, but wasn't done with the book

when her mother died on December 30, 1990. Her

mother's death hit Rowling hard. In an attempt

to escape the sorrow, Rowling accepted a job

teaching English in Portugal. Her mother's death

translated into more realistic and complex

feelings for Harry Potter about his parents'

deaths.

Rowling Becomes a Wife and Mother

In Portugal, Rowling met Jorge Arantes and the

two married on October 16, 1992. Although the

marriage proved a bad one, the couple had one

child together, Jessica (born July 1993). After

getting divorced on November 30, 1993, Rowling

and her daughter moved to Edinburgh to be near

Rowling's sister, Di, at the end of 1994.

The First Harry Potter Book

Before starting another full-time job, Rowling

was determined to finish her Harry Potter

manuscript. Once she had completed it, she typed

it up and sent it to several literary agents.

After acquiring an agent, the agent shopped

around for a publisher. After a year of searching

and a number of publishers turning it down, the

agent finally found a publisher willing to print

the book. Bloomsbury made an offer for the book

in August 1996.

Rowling's first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter

and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and

the Sorcerer's Stone was the U.S. title) became

hugely popular, attracting an audience of young

boys and girls as well as adults. With the public

demanding more, Rowling quickly got to work on

the following six books, with the last one

published in July 2007.

Hugely Popular

In 1998, Warner Bros. bought the film rights and

since then extremely popular movies have been

made of the books. From the books, the films,

and the merchandise bearing Harry Potter

images, Rowling has become one of the richest

people in the world.

Rowling Marries Again

Between all of this writing and publicity,

Rowling remarried on December 26, 2001 to Dr.

Neil Murray. In addition to her daughter Jessica

from her first marriage, Rowling has two

additional children: David Gordon (born March

2003) and Mackenzie Jean (born January 2005).

The Harry Potter Books

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

(June 26, 1997 in U.K.) (called Harry

Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the

U.S., September 1998)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

(July 2, 1998 in U.K.) (June 2, 1999 in

U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

(July 8, 1999 in U.K.) (September 8, 1999

in U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (July

8, 2000 in both U.K. and U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(June 21, 2003 in both U.K. and U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

(July 16, 2005 in both U.K. and U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (July

21, 2007 in both U.K. and U.S.)