John Ray Grisham, Jr. (/rm/; born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American author. is a popular American author, lawyer, and former representative from Mississippi’s 7th district in the House of Representatives.
In total, Grisham’s books have sold over 300 million copies around the world, and they have spent 28 weeks in a row at the top of the fiction bestseller charts, as reported by the American Academy of Achievement.
To date, Grisham is one of only three authors—the others being Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling—to have two million copies sold on the first printing of their books. Grisham attended Mississippi State University for his undergraduate studies and the University of Mississippi School of Law for his legal training.
He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1981. After serving in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1983 until 1990, he went into private practice as a criminal lawyer.
How Old Is John Grisham?
American author John Grisham was born on February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He is now 67 years old.
In 1981, he received his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. After ten years of private practice, he entered politics in 1984 and represented the state of Mississippi in the House of Representatives until September 1990.
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‘The Firm’ Novel
When Grisham released his second novel, “The Firm,” it became his first commercial success. The novel was the year’s ninth bestseller and stayed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for 47 weeks.
After this success, Grisham left the legal field until 1996, when he returned for the case that would bring in his largest verdict to that point. Grisham had the year’s best-selling book in 1994, 1995, and 2000, and the year’s runner-up in 1992 and 1993. Books from this time period include “The Rainmaker,” “The Client,” and “The Runaway Jury,” to name just a few.
Up to the year 2021, nine of Grisham’s novels will have been adapted into motion pictures. Featuring Tom Cruise and Holly Hunter, “The Firm” was 1993’s highest-grossing film with a total of $270 million.
The film adaptation of “The Pelican Brief,” starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, earned $195 million worldwide in December of that same year. Other film adaptations of Grisham’s books that premiered in 2003 included “The Client,” starring Susan Sarandon, and “A Painted House,” starring Scott Glenn and Logan Lerman.
Personal Life
Grisham has two kids, Shea and Ty, from his marriage to Renee Jones in 1981. As a lifelong fan of the sport, Grisham invested $3.8 million into constructing a baseball complex for kids in Covesville, Virginia. To help rebuild UVA’s Davenport Field, he donated $1.2 million.
Grisham is a member of the board of directors for The Innocence Project, an organization that works to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted individuals. Grisham has shown his advocacy on “Dateline NBC,” “Bill Moyers Journal,” and The New York Times, among other places.
Aside from his apartment in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Grisham, and his family also live in a Victorian house close to Oxford, Mississippi; in Charlottesville, Virginia; in Destin, Florida; and in an additional location in Florida.
Recognition
Among the honors bestowed upon Grisham are the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award, the Galaxy British Lifetime Achievement Award, the Library of Congress’s Creative Achievement Award for Fiction, and the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award from 2005.
Moreover, Grisham is one of only three authors, along with J.K. Rowling and Tom Clancy, to have sold two million copies on the first printing.
What Year Did John Grisham Complete the Innocent Man?
In 2006, John Grisham published his true crime thriller The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.
Ronald “Ron” Keith Williamson, a minor league baseball player, was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter in Ada, Oklahoma, in 1988.
He was given the death penalty but was exonerated by DNA evidence and other evidence presented by the Innocence Project after spending 11 years on death row. Ronald was finally freed in the year 1999. A 6-part Netflix documentary series is based on the story.
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Prosperity in Monetary Terms
American author John Grisham has a net worth of $400 million. Grisham receives between $ 50 million and $ 80 million annually from book and film royalties and advances.