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J.K. Rowling was Born
J.K. Rowling was born on July 31, 1965 to parents Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant (J.K. Rowling Limited). She was born at Yale General Hospital (J.K.Rowling Limited).The hospital is located in Bristol, England (Seal). In her interview with Oprah, Rowling mentions she was born with the name "Jo" but added the inital "K" to use as her pen name to attract a male audience to her books (Rowling Archives). -
University of Exeter
J.K. Rowling decided to go to University of Exeter where she wanted to study English Literature, but her parents did not approve, so she studied French instead ("JK Rowling"). As shown in the picture, the University of Exeter is located in England (University of Exeter). -
J.K Rowling loses her mother
J.K. Rowling's mother passed away at age 45 after battling mutliple sclerosis (J.K. Rowling Limited). J.K. Rowling reveals to Oprah that she fell into a state of depression after she lost her mother and that this was one of the hardest parts of her life (Rowling Archives).In the same interview, Rowling says that her mother's death is reflected in every single Harry Potter book (Rowling Archives). -
Jessica Rowling
After moving to Portugal to be an English teacher, J.K. Rowling and her first husband, Jorge Arantes, had their first daughter Jessica ( Biography Online) . -
Facing Divorce
J.K. Rowling split from her husband and moved back to the UK, supporting her daugther on welfare checks ("J.K. Rowling"). J.K. Rowling revealed to Oprah during their interview, that her first marriage was hard on her. Rowling left and walked straight into poverty with a small child, but said she would do it again because it taught her to be strong and gave her, her first child (Rowling Archives). -
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was published by Bloomsburg Children's Books (J.K. Rowling Limited). J.K. Rowling reveals in her interview that as she was writing the Harry Potter series she wanted to be sure to make the women in the book just as strong as the men based on her belief that women can do anything a man can do (The Women of Harry Potter!). -
Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone Continued
Rowling also reveals to Oprah that many of the other aspects and characters in her books are based on people directly from her life and experiences. For example, the Dementors represented the depression she suffered from (Rowling Archives). The photo of the cover of the book gives insight that Rowling's novel was about a young boy with magical powers and the magical world he is a part of ("Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"). -
Box Office Hit
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released as a film. The movie was a huge hit (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Movie Billboard). Oprah also learns in her interview with Rowling that she loved the movies but was sometimes skeptical of all the other merchandise that was beginning to sponsor Harry Potter (Rowling Archives). -
Neil Murray
J.K. Rowling marries Dr. Neil Murray in Scotland. They then have two children, David (2003) and Mackenzie (2005) (Rowling Archives). She also reveals to Oprah that she does not regret her first marriage, but she is confident that she has now met the right man (Rowling Archives). Rowling demonstrates her love for Neil in the photo of them at the Deathly Hallows Premier (Hogan). -
Final Book
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh book in the Harry Potter Series, was published (J.K. J.K. Rowling Limited). Rowling shares with Oprah that the ending of the Harry Potter series was like a part of her life was ending and that she was genuinly going to miss the charaters that she wrote about (Rowling Archives). -
Final Book Continued
Rowling also reveals to Oprah that this series and the way that her life turned out has truely made her happy. She states, "Dumbledore once said to Harry, 'the happiest man alive is the one who looks in the mirror and sees himself as he is.' and I am pretty close" (Rowling Archives). The picture illustrates how proud and successful Rowling has become as a result of Harry Potter ("J.K. Rowling at Harry Potter Book Signing"). -
Potter World
J.K. Rowling approved the plan for a Harry Potter theme park at Disney World in Orlando complete with details from every Harry Potter book (Christie). J.K. Rowling states, in her interview with Oprah, that she was skeptical of all things relating to Harry Potter that were not the actual books themselves, but she approved the theme park because she knew it was going to be spectacular (Rowling Archives). -
Potter World Continued
As seen in the photo, Potter world is complete with a castle, just like the one from the books, along with rides, and other Harry Potter related attractions (Cochran).
