You might know Harry Potter inside and out, but how much do you know about the woman behind the series, J.K. Rowling? Despite the fact that Rowling has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about J.K. Rowling. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: The Inspiration for Hagrid Was a Hell’s Angel Biker. According to the actor who plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, his character was based on a Hell’s Angel that Rowling knew in the West Country. The Hell’s Angel reportedly looked very intimidating but often talked about gardening petunias.
Number Fourteen: She Never Brought Up Religion to Avoid Her Readers Guessing the Ending. According to Rowling, she thinks the religious parallels between Harry Potter and Christianity are obvious. However, she purposefully shied away from discussing the similarities because she was afraid her Christian readers would be able to guess the ending.
Number Thirteen: Hedwig’s Death Signaled the Death of Harry’s Innocence. Rowling reportedly included Hedwig’s death in Deathly Hallows because the death of his beautiful white owl was a symbol for the death of Harry’s own innocence.
Number Twelve: She Said No to Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson wanted to make a Harry Potter musical, and Rowling said no. She said that she had to say no to many things, but she loves the films and the books.
Number Eleven: She Was Inspired by The Canterbury Tales. Specifically, the story of “The Pardoner’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales is what originally inspired Rowling’s “The Tale of Three Brothers.”
Number Ten: She Almost Killed Off Ron. Rowling has said that she originally planned for none of them to die. However, midway through developing the story, she thought she might want to kill a major character off “out of sheer spite.” However, she went on to say that she probably would not have done it in the end.
Number Nine: She Was Almost in an Episode of Doctor Who. Rowling almost appeared in the episode of Doctor Who that was set in the universe of Harry Potter. However, David Tennant shot the idea down because he thought it was too gimmicky.