J. K. Rowling, the author of the well-renowned fictional series Harry Potter, was born on July 31, 1965, in Yate, England. As a child, she grew up with a love for books, writing her first book at the age of six, and later on, writing her first novel at age eleven - about seven cursed diamonds and their owners. Born Joanne Rowling, she adopted her pen name, J.K. by combining her first name and her grandmother’s name, Kathleen, for the middle initial (as she does not have a middle name). She added this initial not only for her grandmother but also per the publisher’s request when she was publishing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, who believed that a book by an obviously female author may not be able to successfully target young male readers.

Rowling studied French at Exeter University with a minor in Classics. Her knowledge of Classics helped inspire her to create names for spells in the Harry Potter series, some of which are based on Latin. She spent many of her years traveling, spending a year studying aboard in Paris. She also resided in northern Portugal for some time to teach English as a foreign language. During her time there, she married Jorge Arantes, and had a daughter together named Jessica. Later on, they split apart and she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh alongside her daughter. J. K. Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray in 2001 and they currently live in Edinburgh with their two children, David and Mackenzie.

In 2001, the film adaptation of the first book was released. The final film was released in 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The series has sold at least 500 million copies with the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone selling 120 million copies. Her series inspired the creation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of Universal Studios’ popular attractions located in Orlando, Florida. Rowling went on to write several other novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and continues to write novels, plays, and children’s books to this day.