Meet Danielle

Danielle Steel's books are loved the world over. There are more than 560 million copies of her books in print, and every one of her books is a bestseller. In short, Danielle Steel is the most popular author writing today. She is read by women, men, young people, old people, in 47 countries and 28 languages, and her novels are regular fixtures on hardback and paperback bestseller lists around the world. Browse through a full list of Danielle's books

Twenty-one of Danielle's novels have been adapted for television, each earning high ratings and critical acclaim, including two Golden Globe nominations for Jewels in the US.

Danielle Steel has also written non-fiction, His Bright Light, about the life and death of her son Nicholas Traina. In 2002, Danielle was decorated by the French government as an "Officier" of the distinguished Order of Arts and Letters, for her lifetime contribution to world culture. She was awarded the second highest rank of the Order.

Danielle Steel also has a passionate interest in emerging contemporary artists. She has had an art gallery for several years, and continues to sponsor and organize freelance art shows and events to show the work of emerging and mid-career artists. She has a degree in design herself. In addition to her writing, Danielle has varied philanthropic interests. She founded and runs two foundations, one named in honour of her late son, The Nick Traina Foundation, which funds organizations involved in mental illness and child abuse. The second was established to assist the homeless. She has won numerous awards for her personal work with mentally ill adolescents and children, and maintains a passionate interest in the welfare and well-being of children, particularly those in jeopardy. She has raised nine children of her own. And they continue to keep her busy, as she juggles writing and family. Her family is her first priority, despite her many interests.

From an education in New York and Europe to a professional background in public relations and advertising, and teaching, Danielle Steel moved on quickly to her literary career and has been hard at work writing ever since. She wrote her first book at nineteen. Often, she works on five books at a time - researching one storyline, writing another, and editing the third. Still, she often spends two to three years researching and developing a single project. In the heat of a first draft, it is not uncommon for her to spend eighteen to twenty hours a day glued to her 1946 Olympia manual typewriter.

Family, children, and young people are the central focus of her life, and her passion, which frequently shows in her writing. She deals with the themes that touch on the most pressing issues of real life, which makes her books universal, and touch so many people. She is fascinated by the pressing life situations that affect us all, how people handle them and are often transformed as a result. And her novels have explored subjects such as kidnapping, incest, mental illness, suicide, death, divorce, adoption, marriage, loss, cancer, war, among others. She also frequently writes about historical themes, shedding new light on familiar historical events with meticulously accurate research.

Despite her varied interests and activities, Danielle Steel leads an extremely private family-centred life. She lives in San Francisco and Paris.