English author, who wrote the bestselling Harry Potter fantasy books, turns 50 today! Here’s wishing “JK Rowling” a very happy birthday!

She began writing as a child, creating stories about a rabbit family for her younger sister's enjoyment. In her early adulthood, Rowling studied Classics and French at the University of Exeter and subsequently accepted a job offer with Amnesty International.

Her first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), was followed by six equally popular installments, all of which were made into feature films. She went from depending on welfare programs to becoming a millionaire within five years, and was ranked the 12th richest woman in the UK in 2008.

She was born in Gloucestershire, England to Anne Volant Rowling and engineer Peter James Rowling. J.K. Rowling was married twice: first, to Portuguese broadcast journalist, Jorge Arantes, and later, to anaesthesiologist Neil Michael Murray.

Her two marriages resulted in three children: Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes, David Gordon Rowling Murray, and Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.