Joanne "Jo" Rowling OBE Caine heads birthday honours list. BBC News. 17 June 2000. Accessed 25 October 2000. (born 31 July 1965),JK Rowling Biography. Scholastic.com. Accessed 20 October 2007. who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British writer and author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold nearly 400 million copies.Booth, Jenny. November 1 2007. Accessed November 1 2007.

Aside from writing the Potter novels, Rowling is equally famous for her "rags to riches" life story, in which she progressed from living on welfare to multi-millionaire status within five years. The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £560 million ($1.1 billion), ranking her as the 12th richest woman in Britain.Sunday Times Rich List - Joanne Rowling; [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_search/?l=8 Women's Rich List - Joanne Rowling]. The Sunday Times. 27 April 2008. Accessed 20 May 2008. Forbes ranked Rowling as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007,#48 J.K. Rowling. Forbes Magazine. 14 June, 2007. Accessed 20 October 2007. and Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom.Person of the Year 2007 Runners-Up: J.K. Rowling. Time Magazine. 23 December 2007. Accessed 23 December 2007. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, One Parent Families and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain.