American Female Novelists

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 1 
Harper Lee
(American Author Best Known for Her Novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’)
Harper Lee
6
Birthdate: April 28, 1926
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Monroeville, Alabama, United States
Died: February 19, 2016

Harper Lee was an American novelist who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Despite publishing only two books, Lee was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature, such was her impact in the world of literature. A friend of Truman Capote, Lee has been portrayed by popular actresses in Capote's biographical films.

 2 
Toni Morrison
(Novelist)
Toni Morrison
6
Birthdate: February 18, 1931
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lorain, Ohio
Died: August 5, 2019
Author, editor, and Princeton professor Toni Morrison is best remembered for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved, part of a trilogy. Some of her other notable works include The Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon. She received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature. She also wrote several children’s books and plays.
 3 
Louisa May Alcott
4
Birthdate: November 29, 1832
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: March 6, 1888
Novelist and short story writer Louisa May Alcott is best remembered as the author of the 1868 novel Little Women and its sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. She initially wrote using the pseudonym “A. M. Barnard.” She never married and remained a life-long feminist and abolitionist.
 4 
Lauren Graham
(Actress and Author Best Known for Her Role as ‘Lorelai Gilmore’ in the TV Series ‘Gilmore Girls’)
Lauren Graham
6
Birthdate: March 16, 1967
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Lauren Graham is an American actress popular for playing Lorelai Gilmore in the famous television series, Gilmore Girls. Apart from being an actress, Lauren Graham is also an author and has published a couple of books, including a memoir. Also known for her beauty, Lauren has graced the cover of magazines like Health, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Parade, and Self.

 5 
Ayn Rand
(Writer and Philosopher Known for Her Best-Selling Novels ‘The Fountainhead’ and ‘Atlas Shrugged’)
Ayn Rand
7
Birthdate: February 2, 1905
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: March 6, 1982

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American philosopher and writer. Apart from publishing two best-selling novels, Ayn Rand is credited with developing a philosophical system called Objectivism. Over the years, Ayn Rand has been a major influence among American conservatives and libertarians. Some of the famous personalities influenced by her include Amber Heard, Vince Vaughn, Jimmy Wales, Ayelet Shaked, and Mary Ruwart.

 6 
Sylvia Plath
(Famous for Her Books 'The Bell Jar' and 'Ariel')
Sylvia Plath
5
Birthdate: October 27, 1932
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: February 11, 1963

Sylvia Plath was an American short-story writer, novelist, and poet. Plath is credited with popularizing confessional poetry and won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Sylvia Plath achieved popularity and critical acclaim despite suffering from clinical depression for the most part of her adult life. Her story inspired the 2003 film Sylvia in which she was portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow.

 7 
MacKenzie Scott
(Novelist, Ex-Wife of Jeff Bezos)
MacKenzie Scott
7
Birthdate: April 7, 1970
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 8 
Zelda Fitzgerald
(Socialite & Referred to as 'The first American Flapper' by Her Husband 'F. Scott Fitzgerald')
Zelda Fitzgerald
4
Birthdate: July 24, 1900
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Died: March 10, 1948

Zelda Fitzgerald was a painter, socialite, and novelist. Along with her husband Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda became a prominent personality of the Jazz Age. Renowned for her high spirits and beauty, she was named the first American flapper by Scott. For her work as a novelist and painter, Fitzgerald was posthumously made an inductee to the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.

 9 
Stacey Dash
(Actress)
Stacey Dash
6
Birthdate: January 20, 1967
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 10 
Nicolle Wallace
(American Television Host and Former White House Communications Director (2005 - 2006))
Nicolle Wallace
4
Birthdate: February 4, 1972
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Orange County, California, United States

Nicolle Wallace has been Jeb Bush's press secretary, the White House communications director under George W. Bush, and John McCain’s senior political advisor. She has also hosted Deadline: White House and The View, and written three political novels, including Eighteen Acres. A self-proclaimed “non-practicing Republican,” she supports same-sex marriage.

 11 
Ursula K. Le Guin
(American Author Best Known for Her Works of Speculative Fiction)
Ursula K. Le Guin
4
Birthdate: October 21, 1929
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, United States
Died: January 22, 2018

Ursula K. Le Guin was an American author. In a career spanning almost six decades, Ursula wrote about political and social themes like race and sexuality. Throughout her career, Ursula had a major influence on speculative fiction. Her book A Wizard of Earthsea is credited with inspiring ideas like 'wizard school', which was later popularized in the Harry Potter series.

 12 
Isabel Allende
(Chilean-American Author Known for Her Novels: ‘The House of the Spirits’ and ‘City of the Beasts’)
Isabel Allende
5
Birthdate: August 2, 1942
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lima, Peru
Chilean author Isabel Allende is known for her bestselling Spanish-language novels The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts. The Chilean National Literature Prize-winner explores women’s perspectives and includes magic realism and autobiographical aspects in her works. She has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
 13 
Alice Walker
(The First African-American Woman to Win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
Alice Walker
5
Birthdate: February 9, 1944
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Eatonton, Georgia, United States
Author Alice Walker is best known for her National Book Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She is credited with coining the term womanist, to mean feminist of color. Her marriage with Melvyn Roseman Leventhal was the first official interracial marriage in the state of Mississippi.
 14 
Gertrude Stein
(American Novelist, Poet and Playwright)
Gertrude Stein
5
Birthdate: February 3, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 27, 1946

Gertrude Stein was an American playwright, novelist, poet, and art collector. She is remembered for publishing works about lesbian sexuality, which was considered a taboo at that time. Over the years, Gertrude Stein has been the subject of several works of art. In the 2011 movie Midnight in Paris, Stein was portrayed by Kathy Bates.

 15 
Shirley Jackson
(American Writer Known Primarily for Her Works of Horror and Mystery)
Shirley Jackson
5
Birthdate: December 14, 1916
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: September 8, 1965
Shirley Jackson redefined the genres of horror and mystery through her works, which include over 200 short stories and six novels. Her iconic novel The Haunting of Hill House was made into a popular Netflix series and several movies, including the 1963 and 1999 versions of The Haunting
 16 
Anne Rice
(American Author Best Known for Her Series of Novels ‘The Vampire Chronicles’)
Anne Rice
5
Birthdate: October 4, 1941
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 17 
Zora Neale Hurston
(Folklorist, Anthropologist)
Zora Neale Hurston
4
Birthdate: January 7, 1891
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Notasulga
Died: January 28, 1960

Zora Neale Hurston was an author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. As an African American woman, she often depicted racial issues in the films she made. Her works also reflected her struggles as a black woman. In her early career, she conducted anthropological and ethnographic research and focused more on writing and film-making in her later years.

 18 
Joan Didion
(Screenwriter, Novelist, Journalist, Writer, Essayist)
Joan Didion
4
Birthdate: December 5, 1934
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Sacramento, California, United States
 19 
Octavia Butler
(American Author Known for Her Science Fiction Novels)
Octavia Butler
5
Birthdate: June 22, 1947
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Pasadena, California, United States
Died: February 24, 2006

One of the finest African-American sci-fi authors, Octavia Butler was raised single-handedly by her widowed mother. Best known for the Patternist series and the short story Bloodchild, she often mingled mythology and spirituality in her work. She was the first sci-fi author to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

 20 
Anais Nin
(French-Born American Novelist, Diarist and Short Story Writer)
Anais Nin
6
Birthdate: February 21, 1903
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France
Died: January 14, 1977

French-Cuban-American diarist, essayist, and novelist Anais Nin wrote several volumes of journals, erotica, novels, critical studies, essays, and short stories. Her journals and diaries are among her most studied works. She had a deep interest in psychoanalysis and studied it extensively with René Allendy and Otto Rank. Critics consider her one of the finest writers of female erotica.

 21 
Beverly Cleary
4
Birthdate: April 12, 1916
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Died: March 25, 2021
 22 
Jackie Collins
(Novelist)
Jackie Collins
9
Birthdate: October 4, 1937
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Died: September 19, 2015
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 23 
Martha Gellhorn
(Novelist & Travel writer)
Martha Gellhorn
4
Birthdate: November 8, 1908
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: February 15, 1998
 24 
Stephenie Meyer
(Novelist Best Known for Writing the Vampire Romance Series 'Twilight')
Stephenie Meyer
5
Birthdate: December 24, 1973
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Best known for writing the Twilight series, a New York Times bestseller which has also been made into a hit film franchise, Stephenie Meyer made it to Time 100 in 2008. Initially a receptionist, she had planned to attend law school. She and her husband, Christiaan, were childhood friends

 25 
Flannery O'Connor
(Novelist)
Flannery O'Connor
4
Birthdate: March 25, 1925
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Savannah, Georgia, United States
Died: August 3, 1964
 26 
V. C. Andrews
(Novelist)
V. C. Andrews
5
Birthdate: June 6, 1923
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Portsmouth, Virginia, United States
Died: December 19, 1986
 27 
Fannie Flagg
(Actress)
Fannie Flagg
5
Birthdate: September 21, 1944
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
 28 
Patricia Highsmith
(Novelist)
Patricia Highsmith
6
Birthdate: January 19, 1921
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Died: February 4, 1995
 29 
Diana Gabaldon
(Author Known for Her 'Outlander' Series of Novels)
Diana Gabaldon
5
Birthdate: January 11, 1952
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Williams, Arizona, United States

Author Diana Gabaldon, daughter of Arizona senator Tony Gabaldon, is best known for her Outlander novel series, which has also been adapted into a TV series. Gabaldon has also authored the Lord John series. She is known for mingling several genres, including historical fiction, mystery, science fiction, and romance.

 30 
Olivia Olson
(Actress)
Olivia Olson
6
Birthdate: May 21, 1992
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Los Angeles

Olivia Olson is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her film debut at the age of 10, playing Joanna Anderson in the film, Love Actually, in which she was seen singing All I Want for Christmas Is You; her skills as a singer was praised and Olson landed several voice roles in TV series, such as Phineas and Ferb.

 31 
Valerie Plame
(Writer)
Valerie Plame
5
Birthdate: August 13, 1963
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
 32 
Cheryl Crane
(Real estate broker)
Cheryl Crane
4
Birthdate: July 25, 1943
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 33 
Gillian Flynn
(Writer)
Gillian Flynn
5
Birthdate: February 24, 1971
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
 34 
Edith Wharton
6
Birthdate: January 24, 1862
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York City
Died: August 11, 1937
 35 
Meg Tilly
(Actress)
Meg Tilly
5
Birthdate: February 14, 1960
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Long Beach, California, USA

Meg Tilly is an actress best known for her role in the drama mystery film Agnes of God, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She began her career as a dancer and eventually took up acting roles. She loves to write as a hobby and is the author of many novels. 

 36 
Patti Davis
(Actress)
Patti Davis
10
Birthdate: October 21, 1952
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 37 
Joyce Carol Oates
6
Birthdate: June 16, 1938
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lockport, New York, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 38 
N. K. Jemisin
(Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer Known for Her 'Inheritance' Trilogy)
N. K. Jemisin
6
Birthdate: September 19, 1972
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Iowa City, Iowa, United States

N. K. Jemisin became the first writer to win the Hugo Best Novel award thrice consecutively and is best known for her Inheritance trilogy and her Broken Earth series. The African-American author is also a trained psychologist and has worked as a counsellor in several universities.

 39 
S. E. Hinton
(Writer)
S. E. Hinton
6
Birthdate: July 22, 1948
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
 40 
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
(American Aviator and Writer Who Became the First Woman to Receive a U.S. Glider Pilot License)
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
4
Birthdate: June 22, 1906
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Englewood, New Jersey
Died: February 7, 2001

Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American aviator and writer. She is best remembered for her exploratory flights along with her husband and pioneer aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Anne was the first woman to earn a US glider pilot license in 1930. In 1996, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 41 
Donna Tartt
(Author)
Donna Tartt
5
Birthdate: December 23, 1963
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Greenwood, Mississippi, United States
Height: 5'0" (152 cm)
 42 
Willa Cather
(Author)
Willa Cather
4
Birthdate: December 7, 1873
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Winchester
Died: April 24, 1947
 43 
Nora Roberts
(Writer, Novelist, Screenwriter, Science fiction writer)
Nora Roberts
4
Birthdate: October 10, 1950
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Silver Spring

An author who has penned over 200 romance novels, Nora Roberts is also known by her pseudonyms such as J. D. Robb and Jill March. Apart from writing New York Times bestsellers such as Hideaway and Under Currents, she has also penned the suspense series In Death.

 44 
Sue Grafton
(American Author of Detective Novels)
Sue Grafton
4
Birthdate: April 24, 1940
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Died: December 28, 2017
 45 
Esther Hicks
(Writer)
Esther Hicks
5
Birthdate: March 5, 1948
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Coalville, Utah, U.S.
 46 
Rose Wilder Lane
(Journalists)
Rose Wilder Lane
5
Birthdate: December 5, 1886
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: De Smet, South Dakota, USA
Died: October 30, 1968
 47 
Veronica Roth
(Novelist)
Veronica Roth
4
Birthdate: August 19, 1988
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City, New York, U.S.
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 48 
Karen Duffy
(Model)
Karen Duffy
3
Birthdate: May 23, 1962
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Queens, New York (state) New York, U.S.
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 49 
Lois Lowry
(Writer)
Lois Lowry
5
Birthdate: March 20, 1937
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Honolulu Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
 50 
Donna Rice
(Author)
Donna Rice
4
Birthdate: January 7, 1958
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)