Where was J.K. Rowling born in England?

J.K. Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England.

She was born Joanne Rowling on 31 July 1965 at Yate General Hospital, near Bristol. Yate is a town in South Gloucestershire, and the area later became part of the biographical story surrounding the author’s early life. Her family moved to Winterbourne, another Gloucestershire community, when she was a child.

Rowling is often associated with nearby Bristol because Yate lies in the Bristol area and because Bristol is the best-known major city close to her birthplace. However, Bristol is not the specific birthplace recorded in biographies. Gloucester is also in the same county but is a separate city and was not her birthplace.

Her childhood in Gloucestershire influenced some details connected with her writing career, although the Harry Potter novels are not presented as direct memoir. Rowling later studied French and Classics at the University of Exeter before working in several jobs, including a period at Amnesty International in London.