J.K. Rowling was born in Yate, a town in Gloucestershire, England.
Rowling was born Joanne Rowling at Yate General Hospital on 31 July 1965. Yate lies northeast of Bristol and is part of South Gloucestershire. Although she was born there, her family soon moved to Winterbourne, another Gloucestershire community, where she spent much of her childhood.
The location can be confused with nearby Bristol because Yate is within the wider Bristol area and the hospital is commonly described using the city’s regional context. It can also be confused with Tutshill, where Rowling later lived and attended school. These places all connect to her early life but are not interchangeable.
Rowling’s Gloucestershire childhood influenced some names and settings associated with her writing. She attended Wyedean School and College in Sedbury, near the Welsh border, before studying French and Classics at the University of Exeter.