Melissa de la Cruz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa de la Cruz
At the 2013 LATimes Festival of Books
Born	(1971-09-07) September 7, 1971 (age 53) Manila, Philippines
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University
Genre	Young adult fiction
Years active	1996–present
Notable works	Blue Bloods, Witches of East End
Spouse	Michael Johnston
Children	1

Melissa de la Cruz was born on September 7, 1971. She is a writer from the Philippines and America. She is famous for her books for young adults, which are often called "young adult fiction." Some of her popular book series include Au Pairs, the Blue Bloods series, and The Beauchamp Family.

Early Life and School

Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines. She has said that she wanted to be a writer ever since she was eleven years old.

When she was 13, in 1985, her family moved to the United States. They settled in San Francisco. Melissa went to Convent of the Sacred Heart High School there. After high school, she studied art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a computer consultant.

About Her Family

Melissa de la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, who is also a writer. They have worked on books together, like the Heart of Dread series. Melissa, Michael, and their daughter live in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California.

Her Writing Career

Melissa de la Cruz wrote her first full book when she was 22. At that time, she was living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust. That first book was not published. However, an editor at Little, Brown suggested she try journalism to gain writing experience.

She started working as a freelance writer. Her first essay was published in New York Press in 1996. She also worked as an editor for beauty and fashion topics. In 1998, she sold her first published novel, The Cat's Meow. After her first book came out in 2001, she decided to become a full-time writer.

Melissa de la Cruz has written articles for many magazines. These include The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine.

Her experience as a fashion writer for Marie Claire magazine helped inspire her book How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003). She wrote this book with Karen Robinovitz.

Her time working as a nanny and visiting The Hamptons inspired her book series The Au Pairs, which started in 2004. Melissa de la Cruz has also written original books for Disney's Descendants movies. The first Descendants book was published in 2015.

Book Series by Melissa de la Cruz

• Au Pairs – This series is about three girls who work as au pairs (nannies) in The Hamptons. The first book, The Au Pairs, came out in 2004.
• Blue Bloods – This is a popular series about vampires. It started with the book Blue Bloods in 2006.
• The Ashleys – These books are about girls who go to a special prep school. The first book was The Ashleys: There's a New Name in School (2008).
• The Beauchamp Family – This series is about a family of witches. It is set in the same world as the Blue Bloods books. The first book, Witches of East End, was published in 2011. It was later made into a TV show called Witches of East End.
• Wolf Pact – This is a spin-off series from the Blue Bloods books. It was released as four short e-books in 2012.
• Heart of Dread – Melissa de la Cruz wrote this series with her husband, Michael Johnston. The first book, Frozen, came out in 2013.
• The Ring and the Crown – This is a historical fiction series. It tells the story of five young adults dealing with love, politics, and magic in London. The first book was published in 2014.
• Alex and Eliza – This historical fiction series follows the love story between American founding father Alexander Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth Schuyler. It started in 2017.
• 29 – This is a modern story about a South Korean teenager finding love. The first book was published in 2019.
• Never After – This series began in 2020 with The Thirteenth Fairy.
• The Queen's Assassin – This series started in 2020 with The Queen's Assassin.

Her Books

Short Stories and Anthologies Melissa de la Cruz has also contributed to or edited collections of short stories:

• Mistletoe (2006) – an anthology where she was a contributing author.
• 21 Proms (2007) – an anthology edited by de la Cruz.
• "A Manhattan Love Story", in Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys (2007), an anthology.
• "Shelter Island", in The Eternal Kiss (2009), an anthology.
• "Code of Honor", in A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (2018), an anthology edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman.

See also

In Spanish: Melissa de la Cruz para niños