Joanne Kathleen Rowling is one of the most famous and
successful writers in the world, but she hasn't always been a writer, and she hasn't always been successful. In her life, she has also been a secretary and a teacher (she taught English in Portugal). She's been unemployed and broke, too. Joanne Kathleen Rowling first thought of Harry Potter when she was on a train between London and Manchester. She wrote the first book when she was living in Edinburgh, Scotland. She had no
money and no job - and a baby daughter. She also had a fantastic idea in her head. It took her five
years to finish the book. They were very difficult years, but she loved writing and she didn't give up. Now,
milions of children (and adults) have read the Harry Potter books and many more have seen the films. JK Rowling is the richest woman in Britain (she's richer than the queen!). She has sold milions of books and earned more than 300,000,000. She has helped a
lot of people, too, because she gives a lot of money to charity.