# Julia Quinn

Julie Pottinger (née Cotler; born January 12, 1970), better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is an American author of historical romance fiction. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List 19 times. She has been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her Bridgerton series of novels has been adapted for Netflix by Shondaland under the title Bridgerton.

## Early life and education

Quinn was born as Julie Cotler in 1970 to Jane and Stephen Lewis Cotler. She has three sisters: Emily, Abigail, and Ariana. She is Jewish. She was raised primarily in New England, although she spent much of her time in California after the divorce of her parents.
Quinn's favorite books as a child included the Sweet Dreams and the Sweet Valley High series, which inspired her to begin writing at age 12.
Quinn graduated from Hotchkiss School and Harvard University with a degree in art history. During her senior year of college, she decided to become a doctor. She was accepted to Yale School of Medicine but deferred her entrance for two years to focus on writing novels.

## Career

While she was a student, Quinn began to write light-hearted Regency novels. A few weeks after her acceptance to medical school, she discovered that her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing At Midnight, had been sold at auction, an unusual occurrence for a new romance author. By the time Quinn entered medical school, three of her books had been published. She left medical school after two months to become a full-time writer.
Quinn considers herself a feminist and gives her heroines feminist qualities that are not necessarily true to the most prevalent attitudes of the times her novels are set in. Her novels are primarily character-driven and have been noted for their humor and sharp, witty dialogue. Most of her books are dedicated to her husband, Paul Pottinger, often with references to amusing alternate titles for the work.
In 2003, she was profiled in Time Magazine, an accomplishment few romance novelists have achieved. In 2005, Publishers Weekly gave To Sir Phillip, With Love a rare starred review, and later, the novel was named as one of the six best mass market original novels of the year.
Quinn won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, in 2007, for On the Way to the Wedding and again, in 2008, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. At the time of her 2010 RITA award for What Happens in London, she became RWA's youngest member. She is one of only 16 authors to be inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame.
Many of Quinn's novels have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume hitting number one in October 2008. In addition, both her Lady Whistledown anthologies appeared on the NY Times list, as did both of her novel-in-three-part collaborations with Connie Brockway and Eloisa James (The Lady Most Likely and The Lady Most Willing), and the Bridgertons: Happily Ever After collection of Bridgerton’s second epilogues.
Her Bridgerton series of books has been adapted for Netflix by Shonda Rhimes, under the title Bridgerton.

## Personal life

In 2001, Quinn won $79,000 on The Weakest Link. She is an avid reader and posts recommendations of her favorite books on her Facebook page.
Quinn resides in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and two children.
On June 29, 2021, Quinn's sister and father, Ariana Elise Cotler and Stephen Lewis Cotler, respectively, were killed by a drunk driver in Kaysville, Utah.