Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 - December 11, 2021) was a best-selling American author of gothic, erotic, and religious-themed books from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was married to poet and painter Stan Rice for 41 years until his death from cancer in 2002. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anne Rice, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.