J. K. Rowling is a British author of the popular fantasy book series, Harry Potter. With more than 400 million copies of the Harry Potter series sold worldwide, Rowling was named the 12th richest women in Great Britain in 2008. She was also identified by Forbes as being the first person to reach billionaire-status (USD) simply from writing books.

Afraid that young boys wouldn't read a book written by a female, Rowling was advised by publishers to pen the book after a more ambiguous name. She chose her first and middle name initials; her full name is Joanne "Jo" Rowling.