Author J.K. Rowling was born in the English town of Yate.
Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 at Cottage Hospital in Yate, then in Gloucestershire. Yate lies near Bristol in southwest England, and she spent much of her childhood in the nearby village of Winterbourne. Her birthplace is sometimes confused with Bristol because Yate is part of the wider Bristol area.
The family later moved to Tutshill, near Chepstow, when Rowling was a child. That setting, close to the River Wye and the Welsh border, has often been discussed in accounts of her early life. Rowling attended Wyedean School and College in Sedbury.
Yate is also associated with her younger sister Dianne, who was born there less than two years later. Rowling’s birthday, 31 July, is shared by the fictional character Harry Potter, a detail incorporated into the series’ story world.