Terry McMillan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Terry McMillan
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McMillan at the 2008 Brooklyn Book Festival
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| Born | October 18, 1951 Port Huron, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | Waiting to Exhale (1992) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1996) A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2001) The Interruption of Everything (2006) Getting to Happy (2010) |
| Spouse |
Jonathan Plummer
(m. 1998; div. 2005) |
| Children | 1 (son) |
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is a famous American writer. She is known for her exciting stories about the lives of African American women. Her books often show their relationships, challenges, and how they discover who they are. Two of her most popular books are Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. People love her books because they are funny, real, and full of emotion. Terry McMillan's work has made a big impact on modern stories and how Black women are shown in books and movies.
Contents
Her Early Life and School
Terry McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan, on October 18, 1951. She was the oldest of five children. Her father passed away when she was a teenager. Her mother raised her and her siblings alone. Her mother worked for Ford Motor Co. and always told Terry how important school was.
When Terry was 16, she started working at the local Port Huron library. This is where she first fell in love with books and reading. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles. She found out she could take writing classes for free at Los Angeles City College. She enrolled there while also working as a secretary. Terry was the first person in her family to go to college.
Later, she received a scholarship and moved to the University of California, Berkeley. She thought about studying sociology because she cared about people. However, an advisor saw her articles in the school newspaper, The Daily Californian. The advisor told her she should study writing instead. Terry wasn't sure she could make money as a writer. But she still earned a degree in journalism in 1977. She later realized she wanted to tell stories, not just report facts. She also attended a film program at Columbia University.
Her Writing Career
Terry McMillan's first book, Mama, came out in 1987. She felt her publisher did not promote it enough. So, Terry took matters into her own hands. She wrote to thousands of bookstores, especially African-American bookstores. Because of her hard work, the first 5,000 copies of her book quickly sold out.
Terry McMillan became very well-known in 1992 with her third book, Waiting to Exhale. This book was a huge success. It stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for many months. By 1995, over three million copies had been sold. This book helped change how Black women were seen in popular culture. It showed the lives of Black women professionals in their thirties. They were successful, but also often felt alone and unhappy.
Famous Books and Movies
Many of Terry McMillan's books have been made into movies and TV shows.
- In 1995, Waiting to Exhale became a movie. It was directed by Forest Whitaker. Famous actors like Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett starred in it.
- In 1998, her book How Stella Got Her Groove Back was also made into a movie. Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs were the main actors.
- Her novel Disappearing Acts became a TV movie in 2000. It starred Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan.
- In 2014, Lifetime made her book A Day Late and a Dollar Short into a TV movie. It featured Whoopi Goldberg and other great actors.
- Terry McMillan also wrote The Interruption of Everything (2006). She wrote Getting to Happy (2010), which is a follow-up to Waiting to Exhale.
- In 2024, Terry McMillan started a partnership with Lifetime. She will help create a series of movies under the name "Terry McMillan Presents."
Her Personal Life
Terry McMillan married Jonathan Plummer in 1998. They later divorced in 2005. She has one son named Solomon. In 2012, she moved from her home in Danville, California, to Los Angeles, California.
See also
In Spanish: Terry McMillan para niños
