Isabel Allende facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isabel Allende
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Allende in Germany, 2015
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| Born | Isabel Angélica Allende Llona 2 August 1942 Lima, Peru |
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Author
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| Language | Spanish |
| Nationality | Chilean |
| Citizenship |
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| Notable awards |
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| Spouse |
Miguel Frías
(m. 1962; div. 1987)William C. Gordon
(m. 1988; div. 2015)Roger Cukras
(m. 2019) |
| Children | Paula Frías Allende Nicolás Frías Allende |
| Relatives | Allende family |
Isabel Allende (born August 2, 1942) is a famous Chilean-American writer. She is known for her novels that often include "magical realism." This is a style where magical things happen in a normal, real-world setting.
Some of her most popular books are The House of the Spirits (1982) and City of the Beasts (2002). Her books have sold millions of copies around the world. People call her "the world's most widely read Spanish-language author."
In 2010, she won Chile's highest writing award, the National Literature Prize. In 2014, President Barack Obama gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest awards a civilian can receive in the United States.
Allende's stories often come from her own life or from historical events. She writes about the lives of women, mixing myths with real-life events. She has taught literature at colleges in the U.S. She became a U.S. citizen in 1993 and has lived in California since 1989.
Contents
Growing Up
Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru, in 1942. Her father, Tomás Allende, worked at the Chilean embassy. He was also a cousin of Salvador Allende, who later became the President of Chile.
In 1945, Isabel's father left the family. Her mother moved with her three children to Santiago, Chile. They lived there until 1953. Later, her mother married Ramón Huidobro, a diplomat. Because of his job, the family moved often.
They lived in La Paz, Bolivia, where Isabel went to an American private school. Then they moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where she attended an English private school. In 1958, the family returned to Chile. Isabel was also taught at home for a short time. When she was young, she loved to read, especially the plays of William Shakespeare.
Her Career as a Writer
Before she became a famous author, Isabel Allende worked for the United Nations in different places. From 1959 to 1965, she worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization. She also had a job in Chile translating romance novels from English to Spanish.
She was actually fired from this job! She changed the stories to make the heroines sound smarter. She also changed the endings so the women could be more independent.
Leaving Chile
In 1973, there was a big change in Chile. The government of Salvador Allende (Isabel's cousin) was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. Isabel helped people who were in danger to escape. She did this until her own mother and stepfather faced serious threats.
When Isabel herself started getting death threats, she had to leave Chile. She moved to Venezuela and lived there for 13 years. It was during this time that she wrote her first novel, The House of the Spirits (1982).
Allende believes that leaving Chile made her a serious writer. She said she might have been "trapped in chores" if she had stayed. She felt that as a woman in her family, she was not expected to be "liberated." Her stories often show women fighting against old ideas about how they should live.
Working as a Journalist
Isabel Allende started working in journalism in 1967. She was on the team for Paula magazine. From 1969 to 1974, she also worked for a children's magazine called Mampato, where she later became the editor. She wrote two children's stories and a collection of articles.
She also worked in Chilean television from 1970 to 1974. Once, she interviewed the famous poet Pablo Neruda. He told her she had too much imagination to be a journalist. He suggested she should become a novelist instead! He also told her to put her funny newspaper columns into a book. She did, and that became her first published book.
While in Venezuela, she continued to work as a freelance journalist. She wrote for a major newspaper called El Nacional from 1976 to 1983.
Becoming a Novelist
In 1981, while in Caracas, Isabel Allende learned that her 99-year-old grandfather was very ill. She started writing him a letter, hoping to keep him alive "at least in spirit." This letter grew into her first novel, The House of the Spirits (1982). This book helped her deal with the difficult times of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.
Many publishers in Latin America first said no to the book. But it was finally published in Buenos Aires. Soon, it became a huge success and was translated into many languages. People started comparing Allende to Gabriel García Márquez, another famous writer of magic realism.
Allende has a strict writing routine. She writes on a computer from Monday to Saturday, from 9 AM to 7 PM. She always starts writing a new book on January 8th. This tradition began in 1981 with the letter she wrote to her grandfather.
Her book Paula (1995) is a memoir, which is a true story about her own life. It tells about her childhood and her time in exile. It is written as a letter to her daughter, Paula. In 1991, Paula suffered severe brain damage due to a medical mistake. She died in 1992 at the age of 29. Allende spent months by her daughter's side.
Allende's novels have been translated into over 42 languages. More than 77 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Her book The Sum of Our Days (2008) is another memoir. It talks about her life with her family, including her son and grandchildren.
Public Recognition
In 2006, Isabel Allende was one of eight people who carried the flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Italy. In 2007, she gave a popular talk called Tales of Passion at the TED conference.
She has received several honorary degrees from universities. These degrees recognize her important contributions as a writer and a humanitarian. For example, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Harvard University in 2014.
Her Views on Politics
Isabel Allende does not always talk about politics as much as some other writers. However, she has shared her opinions. She has spoken against Donald Trump and his policies. She also supported Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. She often defends the actions of her father's cousin, Salvador Allende.
Isabel Allende Foundation
Isabel Allende started the Isabel Allende Foundation on December 9, 1996. She created it to honor her daughter, Paula Frías Allende. Paula died in 1992 at age 29 after complications from an illness. The foundation helps programs that support and protect the basic rights of women and children. It aims to empower them and keep them safe.
Her Personal Life
Isabel Allende has been married three times. In 1962, she married Miguel Frías, an engineering student. They had two children, a daughter named Paula (born 1963) and a son named Nicolás (born 1966).
She divorced Miguel Frías in 1987. In 1988, she met William C. "Willie" Gordon, a lawyer and novelist, during a book tour in California. They married in July 1988. They separated in 2015. In 2019, she married for the third time to Roger Cukras, a lawyer from New York.
Allende lives in San Rafael, California. Many of her family members live close by.
Awards and Honors
Isabel Allende has received many awards for her writing and her work:
- Novel of the Year (Chile, 1983)
- Author of the Year (Germany, 1984, 1986)
- Grand Prix d'Evasion (France, 1984)
- Colima Literary Prize (Mexico, 1986)
- XV Premio Internazionale I Migliori Dell'Anno (Italy, 1987)
- Before Columbus Foundation Award (United States, 1989)
- Orden al Mérito Docente y Cultural Gabriela Mistral (Chile, 1990)
- XLI Bancarella Literary Prize (Italy, 1993)
- Independent Foreign Fiction Award (England, 1993)
- Feminist of the Year Award (United States, 1994)
- Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres (France, 1994)
- Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature (United States, 1996)
- Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (United States, 1998)
- Premio Iberoamericano de Letras José Donoso (Chile, 2003)
- Great Immigrants Award (United States, 2006)
- Chilean National Prize for Literature (Chile, 2010)
- Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction (USA, 2010)
- Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award (Denmark, 2012)
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (United States, 2014)
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award: Lifetime Achievement (United States, 2017)
- BBC 100 Women (United Kingdom, 2018)
- National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (United States, 2018)
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Whittier College.
Her Books
Fiction Novels
- The House of the Spirits (1982)
- The Porcelain Fat Lady (1984)
- Of Love and Shadows (1985)
- Eva Luna (1987)
- Two Words (1989)
- The Stories of Eva Luna (1989)
- The Infinite Plan (1991)
- Daughter of Fortune (1999)
- Portrait in Sepia (2000)
- City of the Beasts (2002)
- Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (2004)
- Zorro (2005)
- Forest of the Pygmies (2005)
- Ines of My Soul (2006)
- Island Beneath the Sea (2010)
- Maya's Notebook (2011)
- Ripper (2014)
- The Japanese Lover (2015)
- In the Midst of Winter (2017)
- A Long Petal of the Sea (2019)
- Violeta (2022)
- The Wind Knows My Name (2023)
Nonfiction Books
- Paula (1994)
- Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses (1998)
- My Invented Country: A Memoir (2003)
- The Sum of Our Days (2007)
- The Soul of a Woman (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Isabel Allende para niños
