Paulo Coelho

He has been married to the artist Christina Oiticica since 1980. The couple divides their time between Europe and Brazil.

He founded the Paulo Coelho Institute in 1996 which provides aid to impoverished children and elderly people. He also serves as the UNESCO special counsellor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences”

He was born to devout Catholic parents in Brazil and attended a Jesuit school. His father was an engineer.

Paulo wanted to become a writer from a young age but his parents disapproved of this career choice. They wanted him to pursue a more stable profession and become a man of the world. The teenager’s rebellion made his parents commit him to a mental asylum thrice even though he kept on escaping.

Giving in to his parents’ desire he abandoned his dream of becoming a writer and enrolled in law school. However he could not concentrate on his studies and dropped out after one year.

He became a hippie and traveled all over South America, North Africa, and Europe. He became involved in the ‘drug, sex, and rock’ culture of the 1960-70s.

Once back in Brazil, he accepted a position as a songwriter for Elis Regina Rita Lee and Raul Seixas. His association with Raul made him familiar with magic and occultism. The military government even arrested Coelho once as his lyrics were considered left-wing and dangerous.

He was not satisfied with his career and tried his hands at a variety of professions before he finally became a writer. He had been an actor, journalist and theatre director.

His first book ‘Hell Archives’ was published in 1982. However it was not successful. In 1986 he undertook a 500-plus mile trek on the Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. He had a spiritual awakening on the trip and intuitively realized that it was time he started writing seriously.

His novel ‘The Pilgrimage’ was published in 1987. It was an autobiographical account of his experiences during his trek in Spain which explored man’s need to find his own path in life.

The very next year, he published ‘The Alchemist’ which would soon become his best known book. The 1988 novel tells the story of a shepherd who has a recurring dream of finding treasure in Egypt.

‘The Alchemist’ is the work that established him as a major author on the international level. The book was first published in Portuguese and has till date been translated into 80 different languages and has sold over 65 million copies.