Claim: J. K. Rowling and her first husband ended their marriage.

Joanne Rowling , -LRB- -LSB- ˈrəʊlɪŋ -RSB- born 31 July 1965 -RRB- , pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith , is a British novelist , screenwriter and film producer best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series . The books have gained worldwide attention , won multiple awards , and sold more than 400 million copies . They have become the best-selling book series in history and been the basis for a series of films over which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and maintained creative control by serving as a producer on the final instalment .   Born in Yate , Gloucestershire , England , Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990 . The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother , birth of her first child , divorce from her first husband and relative poverty until she finished the first novel in the series , Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone , in 1997 . There were six sequels , the last , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , in 2007 . Since then , Rowling has written four books for adult readers : The Casual Vacancy -LRB- 2012 -RRB- and -- under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith -- the crime fiction novels The Cuckoo 's Calling -LRB- 2013 -RRB- , The Silkworm -LRB- 2014 -RRB- and Career of Evil -LRB- 2015 -RRB- .   Rowling has lived a `` rags to riches '' life story , in which she progressed from living on state benefits to multi-millionaire status within five years . She is the United Kingdom 's best-selling living author , with sales in excess of # 238M . The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling 's fortune at # 600 million , ranking her as the joint 197th richest person in the UK . Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year , noting the social , moral , and political inspiration she has given her fans . In October 2010 , Rowling was named the `` Most Influential Woman in Britain '' by leading magazine editors . She has supported charities including Comic Relief , One Parent Families , Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Lumos -LRB- formerly the Children 's High Level Group -RRB- .