Paulo Coelho

Novelist

Birthday August 24, 1947

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Age 76 years old

#97381 Most Popular

About

New-age Brazilian novelist who has reached a worldwide audience with works such as The Alchemist and Like The Flowing River. The former work has been translated into nearly seventy languages.

Before Fame

He was briefly committed by his parents to a mental institution when he refused to follow a "practical" career path. He briefly studied law before experiencing a spiritual wake-up call during a 1986 pilgrimage to the Road of Santiago de Compostela.

Trivia

His novel, Veronika Decides to Die, was adapted into a film.

Family Life

He was born to an engineer father in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He later married Christina Oiticica.

Associated With

He once criticized James Joyce's novel, Ulysses, and was immediately attacked by fans of the Irish author.