Joan Didion was born in 1934 in Sacramento, California and lives in New York City.
She is the author of five novels and seven books of non-fiction. Her collections of essays made her a famous observer of American politics and culture. Her most recent book is Where I Was From (2003), which contains both new and collected essays about California and her somewhat ambivalent relationship to the state. She also contributes regularly to the New York Times Review of Books.