J.K. Rowling is the renowned British author, best known for the Harry Potter series. She was born on July 31, 1965, in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, to Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling (née Volant). Her mother had French and Scottish ancestry, and her father was an aircraft engineer for Rolls-Royce. Rowling has one sister, Dianne, who is younger than her.
Rowling's love for writing began at a young age. She would often create fantasy stories and read them to her younger sister. Her headmaster at St Michael's Primary School, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore. In her teenage years, Rowling discovered Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels, which became a significant influence on her. Rowling has said that her teenage years were not particularly happy, as she had a difficult home life and a strained relationship with her father.
Rowling's writing career began in earnest after she moved to Porto, Portugal, to teach English as a foreign language. It was there that she began writing the first Harry Potter book. However, it was not until after she moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter that she finished the manuscript. The book was eventually published in 1997 under the name J.K. Rowling, a pen name that was chosen to appeal to a male audience, as her publishers feared that boys would not want to read a book written by a woman. The Harry Potter series became a global phenomenon, selling over 600 million copies worldwide and being translated into 85 languages. The series has also been adapted into eight blockbuster films.
In addition to the Harry Potter series, Rowling has written several stand-alone novels for adults and children, including The Casual Vacancy, The Ickabog, and The Christmas Pig. She has also written a bestselling crime fiction series under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Rowling is a prominent philanthropist and supports various causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children's charity fighting for every child's right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.