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Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende
MF
Isabel Allende - 001.jpg
Allende in Barcelona, 2008
Born Isabel Allende Llona
(1942-08-02) August 2, 1942 (age 74)
Lima, Peru
Occupation
Author
Language Spanish
Nationality Chilean
Citizenship Chilean-American
Notable awards
Spouse
  • Miguel Frías (1962–87)
  • Willie Gordon (1988–2015)
Children
  • Paula (1963–92)
  • Nicolás (b. 1966)
Website
www.isabelallende.com
External video
Isabel allende.jpg
Isabel Allende: Tales of passion, 18:00, TED Talks (2007)
Isabel Allende, "Maya's Notebook" on YouTube, 56:00, talk begins at 4:10, UC Berkeley Events (2013)
Isabel Allende: A Literary Life on YouTube, 23:30, National Geographic (2013)

Isabel Allende (Spanish: [isaˈβel aˈʝende]; born August 2, 1942) is a Chilean-American writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits (La casa de los espíritus, 1982) and City of the Beasts (La ciudad de las bestias, 2002), which have been commercially successful. Allende has been called "the world's most widely read Spanish-language author". In 2004, Allende was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2010, she received Chile's National Literature Prize. President Barack Obama awarded her the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Allende's novels are often based upon her personal experience and historical events and pay homage to the lives of women, while weaving together elements of myth and realism. She has lectured and toured many American colleges to teach literature. Fluent in English as a second language, Allende was granted United States citizenship in 1993, having lived in California with her American husband since 1989.

Allende was born Isabel Allende Llona in Lima, Peru, the daughter of Francisca Llona Barros and Tomás Allende, who was at the time a second secretary at the Chilean embassy. Her father was a first cousin of Salvador Allende, President of Chile from 1970 to 1973; thus the former head of state is her first cousin once removed. Many sources cite Allende as being Salvador Allende's niece (without specifying that the relationship is that Tomas and Salvador are cousins); the confusion stems from Allende herself often referring to Salvador as her "'uncle" (tío) in her private life and public interviews. This is because in Spanish a "first cousin once removed" is translated as "second degree uncle" (tío en segundo grado).


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Wikipedia

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