Anne Rice is a best selling American author who through most of her career wrote in the gothic genre. Her books hit all of the major best seller lists and a number were made into major motion pictures. More recently, Rice has shifted to writing religious themed books.

Rice was born October 4, 1941. She was married to poet Stan rice for 41 years until he died in 2002. Her books have sold around 100 million copies -- making Rice one of the most widely read authors in all of history.

Throughout most of her adult life, Rice described herself as an atheist. However, in 1998 Rice returned to the Roman Catholic Church, after leaving the church when she was 18. Her return to the church initially was a quiet decision. However, in 2005, Rice announced in an interview in Newsweek magazine that she would only "write for the Lord." She called her book Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, her first religious novel, the beginning of what will be a trilogy chronicling the life of Christ.

In a subsequent interview, Rice declared that she will never again write a vampire novel -- the type of book for which she'd become world renowned. She stated: "I would never go back, not even if they say, 'You will be financially ruined; you've got to write another vampire book.' I would say no. I have no choice. I would be a fool for all eternity to turn my back on God like that."

Despite her return to the Roman Catholic Church, Rice remains supportive of gay rights. Her son, Christopher, openly is gay. She is described as passionate in her support of the rights of gay people to practice the religion of their choice.