E.L. James - wikipedia E.L. James E.L. James James in May 2012 Erika Mitchell ( 1963 - 03 - 07 ) 7 March 1963 ( age 54 ) London, England Pen name E.L. James Snowqueen 's Icedragon Occupation Novelist, film producer Citizenship British Education Wycombe High School University of Kent Genre Romance, erotica, fanfiction Years active 2011 -- present Spouse Niall Leonard Children 2 sons Website www.eljamesauthor.com Erika Mitchell ( born 7 March 1963 ), known by her pen name E.L. James, is an English author. She wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, along with the companion novel Grey : Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian ; and under the name Snowqueen 's Icedragon the Twilight fan fiction `` Master of the Universe '' that was the basis for the Fifty Shades trilogy. The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback of all time. In 2012, Time magazine named her one of `` The World 's 100 Most Influential People. '' The novels were subsequently adapted into the films Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and the upcoming Fifty Shades Freed. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Fifty Shades trilogy 3 Charity work 4 Awards and honours 5 Bibliography 6 Filmography 7 References 8 External links Early life Erika Mitchell was born on 7 March 1963 in London, England, to a Chilean mother and a Scottish father who was a BBC cameraman. She was brought up in Buckinghamshire. James was educated at the independent Pipers Corner School and at Wycombe High School, a state grammar school for girls in the town of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, followed by the University of Kent in South East England where she studied History. Career After leaving university, James became a studio manager 's assistant at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield. She married Niall Leonard, a screenwriter, in 1987, and they have two teenage sons. As of 2012 they reside in Brentford, west London. Fifty Shades trilogy Main article : Fifty Shades trilogy James says the idea for the Fifty Shades trilogy began as a response to the vampire novel series Twilight. In late 2008 James saw the movie Twilight, and then became intensely absorbed with the novels that the movie was based on. She read the novels several times over in a period of a few days, and then, for the first time in her life, sat down to write a book : basically a sequel to the Twilight novels. Between January and August 2009 she wrote two such books in quick succession. She says she then discovered the phenomenon of fan fiction, and this inspired her to publish her novels as Kindle books under the pen name `` Snowqueens Icedragon ''. Beginning in August 2009 she then began to write the Fifty Shades books. James has spoken of her shock at the success of the books. `` The explosion of interest has taken me completely by surprise '' she said. James has described the Fifty Shades trilogy as `` my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that 's it. '' She did not start to write until January 2009, as she revealed while still active on FanFiction.Net : `` I started writing in January 2009 after I finished the Twilight saga, and I have n't stopped since. I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Since then I have written my two fics and plan on doing at least one more. After that... who knows ? '' In August 2013, sales of the trilogy saw James top the Forbes ' list of the highest - earning authors with earnings of $95 m which included $5 m for the film rights to Fifty Shades of Grey. On 1 June 2015 James announced the upcoming release of Grey : Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian, which was released into stores on 18 June 2015. Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian Grey is set for a 2017 release. Charity work James was one of the British celebrities, including Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Riley, to design and sign her own card for the UK children 's charity Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The campaign was launched by crafting company Stampin ' Up ! UK and the cards were auctioned on eBay during May 2014. Awards and honours 2012 Time 100 by Time magazine, `` The 100 Most Influential People in the World '' 2012 Publishers Weekly `` Publishing Person of the Year ''. 2012 National Book Award ( UK ), `` Popular Fiction Book of the Year '', Fifty Shades of Grey 2012 National Book Award ( UK ), `` Book of the Year '', Fifty Shades of Grey Bibliography Fifty Shades of Grey ( 2011 ) Fifty Shades Darker ( 2012 ) Fifty Shades Freed ( 2012 ) Grey : Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian ( 2015 ) Darker : Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian ( 2017 ) Filmography Year Title Note ( s ) 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey Producer 2017 Fifty Shades Darker Producer 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Producer References Jump up ^ ' Fifty Shades Of Grey ' Author Reveals ' Twilight ' Inspiration. Access Hollywood Jump up ^ `` E.L. James ''. Waterstones.com. Waterstones. Retrieved 1 September 2014. Jump up ^ Julie Bosman ( 21 May 2012 ). `` Libraries Debate Stocking ' Fifty Shades of Grey ' Trilogy ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` The Shy British Mum Behind 50 Shades of Grey ''. Time Magazine. 29 March 2012. Jump up ^ `` Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James now worth £ 37m ''. The Guardian. 2 April 2017. Jump up ^ Who Should be Time 's Person of the Year 2012 ? E.L. James. Jump up ^ `` '' Fifty Shades of Grey '' coming in hardcover ``. Salon.com. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013. Jump up ^ The World 's 100 Most Influential People. Jump up ^ Belloni, Matthew ( 20 February 2013 ). `` Universal Chairman Wants ' Fifty Shades ' for Summer 2014, More ' Bourne ' and ' Van Helsing ' Reboot ( Q&A ) ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : Brennan, Zoe ( 6 February 2015 ). `` EL James : The shy housewife behind Fifty Shades of Grey '' ( 7 July 2012 ). The Telegraph. Jump up ^ `` M&S meets S&M Mum who erotic bestseller Fifty Shades Of Grey ''. The Sun. Retrieved 31 May 2012 ^ Jump up to : Who is EL James ? Chicago Tribune Retrieved 31 May 2012 Jump up ^ Triple - X trilogy of novels has women talking ( quietly ). msnbc. Retrieved 31 May 2012 Jump up ^ `` Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James -- Exclusive interview '' ( 16 July 2012 ) Shropshire Star. Retrieved 16 July 2012 Jump up ^ ' Fifty Shades ' author ' stunned ' at success of erotic trilogy TODAY MSNBC Jump up ^ `` The Lost History of Fifty Shades of Grey ''. mediabistro.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` E.L. James Seals A Spot On List of Britain 's Richest Authors ''. Lia. Retrieved 23 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Fifty Shades makes EL James top - earning author ''. BBC News. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` E.L. James teases Fifty Shades Darker from Christian 's point of view ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 December 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Celebrity card auction raises over £ 8,500 for Coram ''. Coram.org. Retrieved 16 February 2015 Jump up ^ The 100 Most Influential People in the World Time Magazine. Retrieved 31 May 2012 Jump up ^ Alison Flood ( 3 December 2012 ). `` EL James wins ' publishing person of the year ' for making erotic fiction ' hot ' ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 December 2012. Jump up ^ Molly Driscoll ( 3 December 2012 ). `` EL James as ' Publishing Person of the Year ' draws outcry from literary world ''. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 5 December 2012. Jump up ^ Alison Flood ( 5 December 2012 ). `` EL James comes out on top at National Book awards ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 December 2012. Jump up ^ `` EL James wins at National Book Awards ''. BBC News. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : E.L. James Wikimedia Commons has media related to E.L. James. Official website E.L. James on IMDb Fifty Shades franchise by E.L. James Novels Original trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey Fifty Shades Darker Fifty Shades Freed Retold Grey : Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian Darker : Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian Film series Films Fifty Shades of Grey Fifty Shades Darker Fifty Shades Freed Music Fifty Shades of Grey `` Earned It '' `` Love Me like You Do '' `` Crazy in Love ( Remix ) '' `` I Put a Spell on You '' `` Haunted ( Michael Diamond Remix ) '' `` Beast of Burden '' `` I 'm on Fire '' `` Witchcraft '' `` I Know You '' Fifty Shades Darker `` I Do n't Wanna Live Forever '' `` Not Afraid Anymore '' `` The Scientist '' Fifty Shades Freed `` For You '' `` Capital Letters '' Parodies Fifty Shades of Oy Vey : A Parody Spank ! The Fifty Shades Parody Fifty Shades of Black VIAF : 255680406 LCCN : no2012049338 ISNI : 0000 0003 7830 6424 GND : 1023973413 SELIBR : 355990 SUDOC : 163755892 BNF : cb16630599x ( data ) BIBSYS : 12049723 NLA : 53259882 NDL : 001122364 NKC : kv2012723230 BNE : XX5239399 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=E._L._James&oldid=818825265 '' Categories : Living people English erotica writers English people of Chilean descent English people of Scottish descent Fan fiction writers 1963 births People educated at Wycombe High School Pseudonymous writers Alumni of the University of Kent English romantic fiction writers 21st - century women writers 21st - century English novelists People from Buckinghamshire English women writers Self - published authors Women erotica writers Women romantic fiction writers BDSM writers Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from February 2015 Pages using Infobox writer with unknown parameters Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Asturianu تۆرکجه Български Català Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français Frysk 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית മലയാളം မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Simple English Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 5 January 2018, at 20 : 30. 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Question: where did el james get the idea for fifty shades of grey
Answer: saw the movie Twilight, and then became intensely absorbed with the novels that the movie was based on