Danielle Steel American novelist, author of numerous bestsellers. Date of Birth: 14.08.1947 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Education
2. Writing Career
3. Multiple Marriages and Personal Struggles
4. Legal Battles and Literary Success
5. Later Career and Legacy

Early Life and Education

Daniela Fernanda Dominique Schlein-Steele was born in New York City on August 14, 1947. Her father, John Schlein-Steele, was a descendant of the founders of the Lowenbrau brewery, and her mother, Norma de Camara Stone-Reis, was the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat. Steele spent much of her childhood in France, where she was a frequent guest at her parents' lavish parties, observing the lifestyles and habits of the wealthy and famous. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she was primarily raised by her father, rarely seeing her mother, who remained in Europe.

From a young age, Steele enjoyed writing stories and poetry. She attended the Lycée Français de New York, graduating in 1965 with a focus on fashion design and literature. She also studied at the Parsons School of Design in 1963 and at New York University from 1963 to 1967.

Writing Career

In 1965, at the age of 18, Steele married banker Claude-Eric Lazard. While fulfilling her role as a young wife and continuing her university studies, she pursued her writing ambitions and published her first novel the following year. After the birth of her daughter, Beatrix, in 1968, Steele worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency and later as a public relations manager in San Francisco. Her clients were so impressed by her press releases that one encouraged her to pursue full-time writing.

After nine years of marriage, Steele divorced Lazard. Shortly before the divorce was finalized, she completed her first novel, "Going Home," which was published and set the tone for her future works, often focusing on family relationships and struggles, as well as events from the past, present, and future that shape the tragic destinies of her characters.

Multiple Marriages and Personal Struggles

Steele married again, this time to Danny Zogeldor, but the marriage quickly dissolved and Zogeldor was later convicted of assault. While eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her son, Nicholas, Steele married for a third time, to William Tot, a recovering drug addict. The relationship lasted two years, and after a custody battle over Nicholas, Steele published the novel "Full Circle," which drew upon her own marital difficulties. In another novel, "Palomino," Steele again explored the emotional turmoil and desperation of a woman trying to help her drug-addicted husband.

Undeterred by the setbacks in her personal life, Steele married for a fourth time in 1981, to writer John Traina, who adopted her son Nick and gave him his surname. She, in turn, adopted John's children from his first marriage, Trevor and Tod. Together, they had five more children: Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa, Max, and Zara. Steele made a conscious effort to spend as much time as possible with all the children, working through the night and sleeping for only four hours each night. She was able to produce multiple books per year, although she admitted that a single novel could take up to two and a half years to complete.

Legal Battles and Literary Success

In 1993, Steele sued an author who revealed the truth about Nicholas's biological father being William Tot, not John Traina. However, the judge ruled that since Steele was a public figure, the case did not fall under the "sealed adoption" law, and the book's publication was not halted. The revelation that her son had been adopted came as a shock to Steele's children. She accused the author of destroying her marriage and used this experience to create the novel "Malice," in which the protagonist's blissful marriage is shattered when a tabloid uncovers the truth about her past that she had kept secret for years.

Nicholas, who had been at the center of the scandal, committed suicide in 1997 due to bipolar disorder and drug addiction. Steele wrote a book about her beloved son, titled "His Bright Light." She also established the Nicholas Traina Foundation to help people with mental health issues. A fifth marriage to Silicon Valley financier Tom Perkins ended in less than two years in 1999, and Steele dedicated the novel "The Clone and I" to her former husband.

Later Career and Legacy

After taking a break from writing, Steele opened an art gallery in San Francisco in 2003, which operated until June 4, 2006. In 2006, her partnership with Elizabeth Arden led to the release of a new fragrance, "Daniela," designed specifically to appeal to Steele's novel readers and sold exclusively in select stores.

Steele resides in San Francisco but also spends time in France, staying for several months each year in a beach house in La Californie, near Saint-Tropez. Incidentally, many of her novels are set in San Francisco. Despite her public persona, Steele is known to be quite shy. Having had bitter experiences dealing with tabloids, she rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances, seeking to protect her children.

Steele's romance novels have been translated into 28 languages and sold in 47 countries. Her work has often been described as "formulaic," focusing on crises that threaten family or romantic relationships. While her characters can sometimes appear unrealistic, they often represent the world of the wealthy and famous. Despite many critics dismissing Steele as "fluff," she has managed to tap into more challenging aspects of human nature, exploring themes of incest, suicide, divorce, war, and even the Holocaust. In her later novels, her heroines become stronger and more assertive, reflecting Steele's own resilience.

"If you can see the magic in a fairy tale, you can face the future with confidence."

"Sometimes if you're not sure about something, you have to just jump off the bridge, spread your wings and fly."

"A bad review is like a cake you've baked with the finest ingredients, and then somebody just sits on it."