J.K. Rowling (left, photo: AFP) is probably one of the most famous female authors around. She's the writer behind the huge best selling book (and movie) series Harry Potter.
But it wasn't always easy for Rowling, as she would have to overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where she is today. At one point, she was living on welfare, was a single parent, and was diagnosed with clinical depression...yet somehow she managed to pull through to become one of the richest female authors in history.
J.K. Rowling is this famous author's pen name - her real name is Joanne Rowling (the "K" doesn't stand for anything) and was born 1965 in England.
Her childhood was fairly typical and she ended up studying French and Classics at the University of Exeter.
Back in 1990, the Harry Potter idea came to her while she was delayed on a trip and as soon as she got home, started writing immediately. Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series were loosely based on some of her acquaintances while she was at school and Hermione (one of the female characters in the Harry Potter series) was said to have been loosely based on J.K. Rowling herself.
Rowling later moved to Portugal to teach English and in 1992, married a Portuguese journalist. Shortly thereafter, her daughter was born and around the same time, she ended up divorcing her husband.
Then in 1994, she moved back to Scotland where she was unemployed and lived on welfare for a while...around the same time, she was diagnosed with clinical depression. Some of what was going on in her real life was reflected in some of her writing in the Harry Potter series.
Rowling ended up worked long hours at different cafes and shops and continued writing whenever she could.
Finally in 1995, she completed the first Harry Potter book and submitted it to 12 different publishing houses - all of whom rejected her book. A year later, she finally found a small publishing house, Bloomsbury who decided to publish her work.
Once the first Harry Potter book was published, it quickly won several book awards and prizes and Bloomsbury (the publishing house) had to quickly print more books because only 1000 books were initially printed.
From there, everything has been picture perfect for her and she would go on to complete 7 books in the series, all of which have become (or will become) bestsellers and huge movie hits.
The Harry Potter brand is said to be worth $15 billion and Rowling herself worth over $1 billion.
She is now one of the richest women in the world and as her Harry Potter series comes to a close, she can now do what ever it is she desires as her success with both the books and the movies are things that are well deserved.
J.K. Rowling is yet another example of someone who truly believed in what she was doing and refused to accept the idea of failure, despite being rejected multiple times. With her back against the wall, there was nowhere for her to go but forward - something we can all learn from.
For more information and bios of J.K. Rowling, check out the following links:
J.K. Rowling at Wikipedia
J.K. Rowling Profile at January Magazine
J.K. Rowling Bio at eSsortment
J.K. Rowling Biography at Biography Online
