Tracy Chevalier
A novelist who masterfully illuminates the hidden lives behind historical artifacts, most famously giving voice to the unknown girl in a Vermeer masterpiece.
Born 1962 (age 64)·American-British novelist·Birthday: October 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Tracy Chevalier builds bridges between the present and the past, not with dry history, but with intimate, imagined lives. An American who moved to London after college, she found her subject matter in the quiet corners of history. Her breakthrough, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' took a single, enigmatic painting and spun a luminous novel around it, exploring the world of the 17th-century Delft maid who might have been its subject. Chevalier's gift is her meticulous research paired with a profound empathy, allowing her to inhabit the minds of fossil hunters, quilt makers, and cathedral builders. She doesn't just describe historical settings; she uses them to explore timeless themes of art, class, and women's agency. Her work invites readers to look closer at the artifacts of history and wonder about the human hands that made them.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Tracy was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tracy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Tracy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Wrote 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' an international bestseller that has sold millions of copies and was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.
- Served as the editor of the short story anthology 'Why Willows Weep,' a project supporting the Woodland Trust.
- Her novel 'Remarkable Creatures' was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize for its engagement with science and history.
- Has written multiple New York Times bestselling historical novels, each focusing on a different craft or artistic endeavor.
Did You Know?
She is a twin.
Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a reference book editor.
She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
She has a passion for knitting and has incorporated textile arts into several of her novels.
“I'm interested in the moments in history when the world changes, and usually it changes in a way that people at the time don't realize.”
