Anne Rice was born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in New Orleans, in 1941. Her father, also Howard, was a Navy vet and USPS executive. Young Howard's name was legally changed to Anne when she was six. Her mother died of alcoholism when she was fifteen. She lived in Texas and San Francisco. She invented sexy vampires. Her first book, Interview with the Vampire, came out in 1976. Rice wrote some sequels in the 80s before she started writing novels about Jesus. Anne Rice was married to Stan Rice, a poet and painter. She wrote erotic fiction under the nom de plumes Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure. Her book about a BDSM resort, Exit to Eden, was adapted into a Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd buddy cop movie. She had an on again, off again relationship with the Catholic church. Anne passed away in December 2021.