Jodi Picoult
A master storyteller who tackles society's toughest moral dilemmas in page-turning novels that have sparked countless book club debates worldwide.
Born 1966 (age 60)·American author·Birthday: May 19·Generation X
Biography
Jodi Picoult possesses a unique alchemy, transforming complex ethical questions—medical rights, school shootings, racial injustice—into narratives that readers devour. Her process often involves deep-dive research, interviewing experts and immersing herself in worlds far from her own to ground her fiction in unsettling reality. This commitment to authenticity, paired with a knack for multi-perspective storytelling, makes her books more than just dramas; they are provocations. With millions of copies in print, her work has become a cultural touchstone, reliably landing on bestseller lists and fueling passionate discussions. While sometimes controversial for her chosen subjects, Picoult's unwavering focus is on the human heart caught in an impossible situation, making the abstract profoundly personal for her vast audience.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Jodi was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jodi Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Jodi's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Has published over two dozen novels, with an estimated 40 million copies in print worldwide, translated into dozens of languages.
- Her novel 'Nineteen Minutes', which explores a school shooting, debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
- Won the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction in 2003 in recognition of her body of work.
Did You Know?
She wrote her first story, 'The Lobster Which Misunderstood', at age five.
She studied creative writing at Princeton and had two short stories published in Seventeen magazine while still a student.
She also wrote several issues of the 'Wonder Woman' comic book for DC Comics in the 2000s.
“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”
