Wednesday, February 27, 2008


Joanne "Jo" Murray, née Rowling OBE (born 31 July 1965), She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and One Parent Families.

Name
Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling née Volant on 31 July 1965 at Yate, Gloucestershire, England, UK 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of Bristol.

Early life

Harry Potter

Main article: Harry PotterJoanne Rowling Harry Potter books

Main article: Harry Potter film series Harry Potter films
Rowling has stated that she plans to continue writing after the publication of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She declared in a December 2005 interview that she will most likely not use a new pen name as the press would quickly discover her true identity.

After Harry Potter
In 2001, Rowling purchased a luxurious 19th century estate house, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Current personal life
Rowling has had a difficult relationship with the press. She admits to being "thin-skinned" and dislikes the fickle nature of reporting.

Legal dispute
Rowling contributes substantially to charities that combat poverty and social inequality. She also gives to organizations that aid children, one parent families, and multiple sclerosis research. Rowling said, "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently."

Philanthropy
Rowling, once a single parent herself, is now president of One Parent Families.

One Parent Families
In 2001, the UK fundraiser Comic Relief asked three bestselling British authors – cookery writer and TV presenter Delia Smith, Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding, and Rowling – to submit booklets related to their most famous works for publication.

Comic Relief
Rowling has contributed money and support for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died in 1990. Rowling said this death heavily affected her writing

Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland
On 1 August and 2 August 2006 she read alongside Stephen King and John Irving at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Profits from the event were donated to the Haven Foundation, a charity that aids artists and performers left uninsurable and unable to work, and the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières.

Other donations

In June 2000, Queen Elizabeth II made Rowling an officer of the Order of the British Empire. Bibliography

"The First It Girl: J.K. Rowling reviews Decca: the Letters of Jessica Mitford ed by Peter Y Sussman", The Daily Telegraph 26 July 2006
Introduction to "Ending Child Poverty" in Moving Britain Forward. Selected Speeches 1997-2006 by Gordon Brown, Bloomsbury (2006)
Foreword to the anthology Magic, edited by Gil McNeil and Sarah Brown, Bloomsbury (2002)

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