Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born on 15 September 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria. After two years at medical school in Nigeria, she moved to the United States to continue her studies in Philadelphia studying Communication and Political Science.
While completeing a masters degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Adichie started working on her first novel, Purple Hibiscus. Since its release in 2003 she has written two further novels and a collection of short stories. Adichie has won critical aclaim and numerous awards. Her novel Half of a Yellow Sun has been adapted into a film of the same name starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton, and Americanah is set to follow suit with David Oyelowo and Oscar-winning Lupita Nyong’o rumoured to be playing the lead roles.
Adapted from: The Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Website. Biography. 2014. http://www.l3.ulg.ac.be/ (last accessed 19 January 2014).