(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series.
Personal
Birth date: July 31, 1965
Birth place: Gloucestershire, England
Birth name: Joanne Rowling
Father: Peter Rowling, aircraft factory manager
Mother: Anne (Volant) Rowling, lab technician
Marriages: Neil Murray (December 26, 2001-present); Jorge Arantes (1992-1995, divorced)
Children: with Neil Murray: Mackenzie Jean and David Gordon; with Jorge Arantes: Jessica
Education: University of Exeter, B.A. in French and the Classics, 1986; Moray House School of Education at The University of Edinburgh, 1995-1996, received a postgraduate certificate in modern languages.
Other Facts
Born Joanne Rowling (pronounced roll-ing), she has said that her publishers wanted another initial, so she gave herself the middle name Kathleen, after her paternal grandmother.
The Harry Potter movies were nominated for 12 Academy Awards.
Since 2019, Rowling has publicly made inflammatory comments about transgender people, particularly trans women.
Timeline
1971 – Writes her first book, “Rabbit,” at age 6.
1987 – Works as a human rights researcher for Amnesty International.
1990 – Comes up with the idea for Harry Potter on a train ride from Manchester to London.
1991-1993 – Teaches English in Portugal.
1994 – On public assistance and living in Edinburgh, Scotland, she writes “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in coffeehouses while her daughter naps.
June 26, 1997 – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” is published in the United Kingdom. It comes out in September 1998 in the United States.
July 2, 1998 – The second book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” is published in the United Kingdom. It comes out June 2, 1999, in the United States.
July 8, 1999 – The third book, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” is published in the United Kingdom. It comes out September 8, 1999, in the United States.
1999 – Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter series, is sued by Nancy Stouffer on grounds of trademark infringement. Stouffer claims elements from the Harry Potter series were taken from her 1984 book “The Legend of Rah and the Muggles.” In 2002, the lawsuit is dismissed when the judge rules that Stouffer “perpetrated a fraud” on the court.
July 8, 2000 – “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the fourth book in the series is published simultaneously in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia.
March 2, 2001 – Is awarded an Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles.
March 2001 – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Quidditch Through the Ages,” two books that appear in the Harry Potter series, are published. The proceeds of more than £17 million are donated to the charity Comic Relief.
November 2001 – The first film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” opens.
June 21, 2003 – “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth book in the series is published.
July 16, 2005 – The sixth book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” is published.
September 6, 2005 – Unveiling of Rowling’s official portrait for the National Portrait Gallery of London.
July 21, 2007 – The seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” is released and sells 8.3 million copies in the United States in the first 24 hours.
June 5, 2008 – Delivers the commencement address at Harvard University and also receives an honorary degree.
September 20, 2008 – Announces she donated £1 million to the Labour Party.
February 2009 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy presents the Legion of Honor award to Rowling.
June 2009 – Rowling and her British publisher, Bloomsbury, are named in a lawsuit filed in London. Relatives representing the estate of writer Adrian Jacobs, who died in 1997, claim Rowling plagiarized her fourth book “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and other material from Jacobs’ 1987 book “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard.” The case is dismissed in January 2011.
2010 – Donates £10 million for a research clinic at The University of Edinburgh. The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic is named after Rowling’s mother, who died in 1990 from complications related to multiple sclerosis.
June 18, 2010 – Grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando.
November 19, 2010 – The movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” opens in the UK and the United States.
June 23, 2011 – Via YouTube, Rowling announces a new project, Pottermore.com, that will be part digital interactive playground and part e-store where the entire Harry Potter series will be available as e-books for the first time.
July 15, 2011 – The final movie in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” opens in the United States and the UK.
November 24, 2011 – Testifies before the Leveson Inquiry regarding journalistic standards in the UK. In her testimony she reviews parts of her 33-page statement given November 2, where she states that some members of the British journalism community engage in, “…behaviour that is illegal, and I think unjustifiably intrusive.”
July 14, 2013 – In a statement to the media, Rowling reveals “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” a crime novel by Robert Galbraith published in April 2013, was written by her.
March 8, 2016 – Rowling begins releasing a series of short stories titled “Magic in North America” on Pottermore.com. The four-part series is released daily until March 11.
July 30, 2016 – “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” opens as a two-part play in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre. The production goes on to open in six countries, on four continents.
July 31, 2016 – The script for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is published.
November 18, 2016 – Rowling’s screenwriting debut, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” opens in theaters.
November 2018 – Rowling files a lawsuit in Scotland against Amanda Donaldson, her former assistant. Donaldson was fired in February for theft. In April 2019, the Judiciary of Scotland rules that Donaldson must repay Rowling £18,734 for fraudulent misrepresentation over missing funds.
November 16, 2018 – “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” written by Rowling, opens in movie theaters.
December 19, 2019 – Rowling tweets in support of Maya Forstater, a woman who lost her job after suggesting that transgender people cannot change the biological sex they were born with.
May 26, 2020 – A new serialized story called “The Ickabog” is published online to entertain children during coronavirus lockdown.
June 10, 2020 – In an essay published to her website, Rowling explains her views on gender identity after facing criticism for her controversial tweets that were perceived by some as transphobic. In the 3,600-word piece, Rowling writes why she has joined the UK’s polarizing trans debate, revealing that she is “a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor” and has “concerns around single sex spaces.”
October 12, 2021 – “The Christmas Pig,” Rowling’s first children’s novel since Harry Potter, is published.
March 29, 2022 – The third Fantastic Beasts film, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” premieres in London.
April 12, 2023 – Warner Bros. Discovery announces that the “Harry Potter” franchise will take on new life at the studio’s newly minted streaming service Max in the form of a scripted television series that is expected to run for 10 years. (CNN and Max are both part of the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
April 16, 2025 – Following the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by “biological sex” under the country’s equality law – excluding transgender women, Rowling, who financially backed the case, posts on social media: “I love it when a plan comes together.”
June 30, 2026 – Meets with Queen Consort Camilla to discuss “the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital role reading plays in children’s lives” at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. The meeting on the last day of Pride Month sparks backlash due to Rowling’s past comments perceived by many as anti-trans.
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