Julia Quinn

Biography

Romance writer Julia Quinn was born Julie Cotler in 1970. She had a specific reason for choosing Julia Quinn as the pen name for her romance novels; she wanted her books to appear alongside those of popular romance author Amanda Quick on bookshelves. However, Quinn did not set out to be a romance writer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Harvard University in the early 1990s and then found herself unsure of what career she wanted to pursue. After contemplating numerous options, Quinn decided upon medical school and began what would be two years of preparatory course work and self-education before she could enter.

During those years, the time she did not spend studying was spent writing, and in 1995 she published her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing at Midnight. Both books were published by Avon, and their release inspired Quinn to postpone medical school for two more years so she could write a third, and then fourth, novel. After publishing the fourth book, Everything and the Moon (1997), which earned a Romantic Times magazine nomination for Best Regency Historical, Quinn finally did enroll at Yale’s medical school in 1997. However, after just a few months, she realized she would rather be writing, and she returned to that career, finding continued success.

Writing from the Pacific Northwest home she shares with her husband, Paul, Quinn has written several acclaimed romance novels, including the bestselling The Bridgerton series. The Duke and I (2000) and The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000)—the first two novels in The Bridgerton series—were both finalists for RITA awards. The third novel, An Offer from a Gentleman (2001), was Quinn’s first book to appear on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2002) was a 2003 RITA finalist for best long historical romance; and To Sir Phillip, with Love (2003) appeared on the Romance Writers of America’s list of top ten books in 2003. Quinn’s novellas Thirty-Six Valentines and A Tale of Two Sisters, both published in romance anthologies in 2003, were finalists in 2004 for RITA awards for best romantic novella. Also in 2004, the novel When He Was Wicked was included on The New York Times Best Sellers list.

Quinn went on to write two more books in the Bridgerton series: It’s in His Kiss, published in 2005, and On the Way to the Wedding, published in 2006. The latter was the recipient of a 2007 RITA Award, along with several novellas. Two decades after Quinn published the first novel in the series, television producer Shonda Rhimes began adapting the books into the Netflix series Bridgerton. The first season, which began streaming in late 2020, was a huge success and brought renewed interest to Quinn’s novels. Sales of the Bridgerton novels spiked as a result; by January 2021, three of Quinn’s novels were listed on the New York Times Best Sellers list simultaneously and ten were listed on the USA Today list. Quinn served as a consultant on the Netflix series, which aired three seasons by 2024 and began streaming its fourth season in January 2026. Quinn also wrote several other romance series throughout the 2010s, including The Smythe-Smith Quartet about a group of amateur musicians, and the Rokesby series, a prequel to the Bridgerton series set in the late 1700s. In 2022, Quinn published the graphic novel Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron: A Graphic Novel with her sister, Violet Charles, born Ariana Elise Cotler. Cotler and her father, Stephen Lewis Cotler, were killed in July 2021 in a multi-vehicle accident in Utah involving a suspected drunk driver. Quinn co-wrote Queen Charlotte with Shonda Rhimes in 2023 based on the screenplay of the Netflix Bridgerton series season by the same name.

In 2026, Quinn had no new books in the works but was doing public appearances and virtual author events. In the same year, she launched a quarterly subscription box titled JQ Editions, featuring a curated collection of historic romance books. She also works closely with Landesa, a non-governmental organization, supporting its mission of ensuring land rights for families of the rural poor.

Bibliography

Bentley, Jean. “‘Bridgerton’ Author Julia Quinn on Her Spiking Book Sales and the TikTok Musical.” IndieWire, 19 Jan. 2021, www.indiewire.com/shop/bridgerton-series-julia-quinn-sales-netflix-1234610254/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Hall, Louise. “Bridgerton Author Reveals Father and Sister Killed in Traffic Collision.” The Independent, 8 July 2021, www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/bridgerton-author-sister-death-julia-quinn-b1880313.html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

“Landesa X Julia Quinn.” Landesa, 9 Dec. 2025, www.landesa.org/juliaquinn/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Lang, Cady. “Everything to Know About the Bridgerton Books Behind Netflix’s Buzzy New Period Drama.” Time, 25 Dec. 2020, time.com/5921482/bridgerton-books-netflix/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Perez, Lexy. “How ‘Bridgerton’ Author Julia Quinn Teamed With Shonda Rhimes to Go Beyond Series for ‘Queen Charlotte’ Book.” The Hollywood Reporter, 6 May 2023, www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/bridgerton-author-julia-quinn-shonda-rhimes-queen-charlotte-book-1235405244/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Quinn, Julia. JQ Editions, 23 Jan. 2026, jqeditions.com/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Quinn, Julia. “Julia Quinn Reflects on Seeing Her Books Come to Life in Bridgerton.” Interview by Maureen Lee Lenker. Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2020, ew.com/tv/julia-quinn-reflects-seeing-books-come-life-bridgerton/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Quinn, Julia. “Next.” Julia Quinn, juliaquinn.com/next/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Valentini, Valentina. “Julia Quinn Dishes on Season Two of ‘Bridgerton’ and Talks About Her New Book.” Shondaland.com, 4 May 2022, www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a39895783/julia-quinn-bridgerton-new-book/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

Vaughn, Emer. “Romance Heroine.” Harvard Magazine, Nov.–Dec. 2004, www.harvardmagazine.com/2004/11/romance-heroine-html. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.