Isabel Allende

Name: Isabel Allende Llona

Born: August 2, 1942 in Peru

Nationality: Chilean-American

Profession: Writer, Journalist, Teacher

 

• Published 20 books that have been translated into 35 langauges

• Recieved 50 awards in 15 countries 

• Created the Allende foundation whose main purpose is to empower women worldwide and protect women and children

• Writings are based off of her personal experiences, often providing a feminist prospective

• Her father, Tomás Allende was a diplomatic post and her mother, Llona Barros, married him despite her parents' advice, therefore resulting in divorce.

• After her parents divorce, Allende and her siblings returned to her grandparents' home and had limited contact with her relatives except for her godfather, President Salvador Allende, who later died due to a military coup who overthrew the Chilean government.

• Attended a North American high school in Bolivia & an English private school in Lebanon

• Finished her secondary studies in Chile

• Married twice: Once in 1962 to Miguel Frias, and a second time to Willie Gordon in 1988

• Memories played large roles within her most famous novels and stories

• She often fictionalized memories to fit the storyline

• As for her more tragic memories, such as the death of her daughter Paula, she wrote memoirs made up of letters to her in order to grieve.