Danielle Steel

Danielle Steel might be famous for writing romance novels, but she herself has been quite unlucky in love. She has been married five times, and each of her marriage ended in divorce. She had six children from all of her marriages.

She was born as Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel in New York City August 14, 1947, into a wealthy family. She was the only child of Norma da Câmara Stone dos Reis and John Schulein-Steel.

Her parents divorced when she was seven or eight years old and she was raised primarily in Paris and New York.

She developed a love for writing as a young girl. After graduating from the Lycée Français de New York in 1963, she studied literature design and fashion design first at Parsons School of Design and then at New York University.

Danielle Steel married young and soon became a mother. She took up a job at a public relations agency in New York called Supergirls shortly after the birth of her first daughter. It was while working there that she first got complimented on her writing. One of her clients was highly impressed by her freelance articles and suggested that she try her hand at writing.

She eventually moved to San Francisco and started working for Grey Advertising as a copywriter. Her debut novel, ‘Going Home’, was out in 1973. After its release she wrote several other novels, but none of them got selected for publication.

Finally her novel ‘Passion’s Promise’ was accepted for publication in 1977. The plot revolves around the life of a glamorous socialite who is also a social justice journalist, and is confused about her own identity.

In 1979, she published a romantic novel, ‘Season of Passion’, which follows the lives of Kate and Tom Harper and the way their relationship develops over a period of time. Initially the couple enjoys a beautiful relationship but when Tom becomes suicidal, Kate realizes that she needs to move on to a fresh start.

She soon developed into a prolific writer, churning out several novels within the same year. After a series of lesser-known novels in the early 1980s, she released ‘Full Circle’ in 1984 which not only became a bestseller but was also adapted into a television film later on.

Her novel ‘Kaleidoscope’ (1987) is one of her most popular bestselling books in which she explores the love and relationships between siblings. The story revolves around three sisters whose father kills their mother and commits suicide. The gripping novel was also adapted into an NBC television movie.

Her most popular non-fiction book is ‘His Bright Life’, in which she shares the story of the life and death of her son Nicholas Traina who had committed suicide in 1997. He suffered from bipolar disorder. The proceeds from this book were used to establish a foundation in her son’s name.