J.K. Rowling

Birth Name:

Joanne Rowling

Birth Place:

Yate, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom

Profession

Writer, Producer, Soundtrack, Actress

Founded Lumos, a charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged children
Was awarded an OBE for services to children's literature
Earned a degree in French and Classics from Exeter University, spending a year in Paris as part of her studies
Served as a researcher at Amnesty International during her postgraduate work
Best known for writing the best-selling "Harry Potter" series, which she started during a delay in a train trip from Manchester to London King's Cross
Published a detective novel called "The Cuckoo's Calling" under the pen name Robert Galbraith in order to work without the hype surrounding her "Harry Potter" fame, but her new persona was leaked by a law firm
Stated that if she was sorted into one of the houses of her fictional wizarding school, Hogwarts, she would like it to be Gryffindor, the house that values courage

Fast Facts