Ayn Rand was born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum on February 2, 1905 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the eldest of three daughters in a Jewish family. She began writing screenplays at the age of eight and novels by the time she was ten. Her best friend was author Vladimir Nabokov's younger sister. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the family was forced to flee to Crimea.
By the age of sixteen, she had graduated from high school and decided she was an atheist. Returning to Russia, she was one of the first women allowed into a university and studied history. She focused on Aristotle, Plato, Nietsche, Dostoevsky, Hugo, Rostand, and Schiller.
By 1924, Alisa was using the pseudonym Ayn Rand for writing purposes. She arrived in New York City in 1926, to visit relatives who were living in America. She was so impressed, that she was determined to stay. Staying with other relatives in Chicago, she spent time watching American movies, then headed for Hollywood, California.
Once there, she met legendary director, Cecil B. DeMille. and became an extra in "The King of Kings" and a junior screenwriter. There she met actor Frank O'Connor, whom she married on April 15, 1929. Working as the head of the costume department at RKO Studios, Rand became a U. S. citizen in 1931.
By 1932, she was writing movies and plays. In 1936, her first novel, "We the Living" was published. In 1940, she and her husband worked on the presidential campaign of Republican Wendell Willkie.
Her first major success was "The Fountainhead" in 1943, which was made into a movie by Warner Brothers. Working with producer Hal Wallis, she wrote the Oscar-nominated "Love Letters" and "You Came Along."
Rand became a staunch anti-Communist during the 50s and began an affair with Nathaniel Branden, with the consent of her spouse and his. The relationship ended in 1968, when he became involved with another woman. It was in 1957, that she wrote her masterpiece, "Atlas Shrugged." It was also her last, as she began to suffer from depression.
Through the 60s and 70s, Ayn became a public speaker. Due to years of heavy smoking, she needed surgery for lung cancer in 1974. Her husband died in 1979 and her health began to decline.
Ayn Rand died on March 6, 1982, from heart failure, at the age of 77, in New York City. She is buried in Kensico Cemetery, in Valhalla, New York.
Date of Birth:
February 2, 1905
Date of Death:
March 6, 1982
Place of Birth:
St. Petersburg, Russia
Place of Death:
New York, New York
Education:
Graduated with highest honors in history from the University of Petrograd, 1924
