J.K. Rowling

Tales of the orphaned wizard have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. The series has been translated into 42 different languages. The first four books all made bestseller lists in countless countries and have remained there ever since. "In my wildest fantasy I could not have imagined anything like this,"Rowling said when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in a media frenzy in mid-2001.

A success with critics

Critics instantly fell in love with Rowling, too. "Rowling’s comic timing is brilliant, perfect," the "Times of London's" literary critic, Nicolette Jones, declared. "Her books are beautifully paced and are a mixture of school magic and beyond. They’ll be bought by future generations of children and
adults too."

But along with the lionising, came the griping, too. A Georgia primary school teacher was asked to stop reading the books to her classes after parents complained about references in the tales to the supernatural.

U.S. parents groups also alleged that Rowling’s books depicted "pure evil" and delared that the series had a "serious tone of death, hate and lack of respect." Then, a religious group from New Mexico burned a pile of Potter books in Dec. 2001, claiming Harry Potter was "the devil."

There have been critics in Europe, too. Carol Rookwood, the principal of St Mary’s Island School -- a Church of England School in Chatham -- banned the books, claiming Rowling’s work went against the teachings of the Bible.

Meanwhile, Rowling underwent some changes in her personal life. In December 2001, she married Doctor Neil Murray. With her personal fairytale nearly complete, Rowling announced she was pregnant. The couple is expecting their own little Harry or Hariet Potter in early 2003.

A multi-billion pound industry

Rowling is nearly as famous for her business acumen and the tight grip she keeps on her intellectual property rights as she is for the books she writes. Indeed, in 2002, Rowling finally won a three-year legal battle in which she was accused of plagiarizing American author Nancy Stouffer. Stouffer claimed Rowling had stolen the ideas for Harry Potter from her 1984 book The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, which includes a character called Larry Potter.

In 2001 alone, Rowling is estimated to have earned over 70 million pounds. In all, J. K. Rowling is estimated to be worth over 80 billion (127 billion euro).

The movie “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” premiered in London’s Leicester square in November 2001, after a full 18 months of tightly controlled Hollywood hype. It was an instant box office success, raking in billions for distributor, Warner Bros and Rowling.

"In my wildest fantasy I could not have imagined anything like this", Rowling said when the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was published in 2001. That this is only the fourth in a series of seven means the magic isn't over yet.

Ruth Elkins