Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer known for writing romance novels. She is the most successful living author and the fourth-most successful fiction author in history, with more than 800 million copies of her books sold. As of 2024, she has written 210 books, including over 182 novels.

Most of her career has taken place in California, where she writes several books each year. She often works on up to five projects at the same time. All of her novels have been bestsellers, even though they are not widely praised by critics. Her stories often focus on wealthy families dealing with difficult situations, such as prison, fraud, blackmail, and suicide.

In addition to romance novels, she has written children’s fiction and poetry. She started the Nick Traina Foundation in memory of her son. This foundation supports organizations that help people with mental health issues. Her books have been translated into 43 languages, and 22 of them have been adapted for television. Two of these adaptations received Golden Globe nominations.

Early life

Danielle Steel was born as Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel in New York City. Her father, John Schuelein-Steel, was a German Jewish immigrant and a family member of people who owned Löwenbräu beer. Her mother, Norma da Camara Stone dos Reis, was the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat.

She spent much of her childhood in France, where she attended dinner parties with her parents from an early age. These events allowed her to learn about the lives and habits of wealthy and famous people. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and she was mostly raised by her father, seeing her mother only rarely. Steel began writing stories as a child and started writing poetry by her late teens. Raised in the Catholic faith, she considered becoming a nun during her early years. She graduated from the Lycée Français de New York in 1965, a French school in New York. She later studied literature, design, and fashion design at Parsons School of Design and then at New York University.

Career

While attending New York University, Steel began writing and completed her first book at the age of 19. She worked for a public relations company in New York named Supergirls. A client, John Mack Carter, who was an editor for Ladies' Home Journal, encouraged her to focus on writing after being impressed by her articles. He suggested she write a book, which she did. Later, she moved to San Francisco and worked as a copywriter for Grey Advertising.

Her first novel, Going Home, was published in 1973. This book included themes that became central to her writing, such as family issues and human relationships. Her relationship with her second husband inspired two novels, Passion's Promise and Now and Forever, which helped launch her career. After the success of her fourth book, The Promise, she became part of San Francisco’s high society.

Starting in 1991, Steel’s books regularly appeared on The New York Times bestseller lists. In 1999, she was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having a book on the New York Times Bestseller List for the most consecutive weeks, 456 at that time. Steel says her books take about 2½ years to complete, and she can work on up to five projects at once. She researches one book while outlining another. Every novel she has written since her first book has reached bestseller lists in paperback, and each hardcover book has also been a bestseller.

During this time, Steel also wrote nonfiction books. Having a Baby, published in 1984, included a chapter about her experience with miscarriage. The same year, she published a poetry book titled Love: Poems. She also wrote a series of 57 illustrated books for children called the "Max and Martha" series, which help children deal with real-life challenges like welcoming a new baby or losing a loved one. She also wrote the "Freddie" series, which addresses issues such as staying overnight for the first time or visiting a doctor.

In 1993, Steel sued writer Lorenzo Bene, who planned to reveal in his book that her son Nick was adopted by her then-husband, John Traina, despite adoption records being sealed in California. A San Francisco judge allowed the adoption records to be unsealed, even though Nick was still a minor. A California Appellate Judge later confirmed this decision, stating that because Steel was famous, her son’s adoption did not have the same privacy rights, and the book was published.

In 2003, Steel opened an art gallery in San Francisco called Steel Gallery, which displayed work by emerging artists. The gallery closed in 2007. She continues to curate art shows a few times a year for the Andrea Schwartz Gallery in San Francisco.

In 2002, Steel was honored by the French government as an Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her contributions to world culture.

She has also received:
– Induction into the California Hall of Fame in December 2009.
– A "Distinguished Service in Mental Health Award" (first given to a non-physician) from New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical School, and Cornell Medical College in May 2009.
– An "Outstanding Achievement Award" for work with adolescents from Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco in May 2003.
– A "Service to Youth Award" for improving the lives of children with mental health challenges from the University of San Francisco Catholic Youth Organization and St. Mary’s Medical Center in November 1999.
– An "Outstanding Achievement Award" in Mental Health from the California Psychiatric Association.
– A "Distinguished Service Award" from the American Psychiatric Association.

In 2006, Steel partnered with Elizabeth Arden to launch a new perfume called Danielle by Danielle Steel.

In 2014, she wrote an article for SFGate expressing her concern that San Francisco was losing its unique character.

Personal life

In 1965, at the age of 18, Steel married French banker Claude-Éric Lazard. They had a daughter named Beatrix. Steel and Lazard separated in 1972. While still married to Lazard, Steel met Danny Zugelder during an interview with an inmate at a prison near Lompoc, California, where Zugelder was also in jail. After Zugelder was released from prison in June 1973, he moved in with Steel. However, he returned to prison in early 1974 due to charges of robbery and rape. In 1975, after receiving her divorce from Lazard, Steel married Zugelder in a prison canteen. During their marriage, Steel experienced several miscarriages. She divorced Zugelder in 1978.

In 1978, while pregnant with their son, Nick, Steel married her third husband, William George Toth. They divorced in March 1981.

In 1981, Steel married John Traina, a businessman involved in shipping, cruises, and later in wine and art collecting. Traina was previously married to Dede Wilsey. Together, they had five children: Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara. Traina adopted Steel’s son, Nick, and gave him his family name. Steel also became the stepmother to Traina’s sons, Trevor and Todd. To spend more time with her children, Steel often wrote at night, getting only four hours of sleep each day. Steel and Traina divorced in 1995.

In the early 1980s, Steel’s fear of flying caused challenges. She completed an eight-week course at the San Francisco airport to help overcome her fear.

In 1981, Steel married for the fifth time to Thomas James Perkins, a financier from Silicon Valley. Their marriage ended in 2002 after four years. Steel has stated that her novel The Klone and I was inspired by a private joke between her and Perkins. In 2006, Perkins dedicated his book Sex and the Single Zillionaire to Steel.

Steel’s long-term home was in San Francisco, but she now spends most of her time in a second home in Paris. Her San Francisco residence, the Spreckels Mansion, is a 55-room house built around 1912 by sugar tycoon Adolph B. Spreckels.

Although Steel is well-known for her work and public life, she is described as shy. To protect her children from media attention, she rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances.

In 1997, Steel’s son, Nick Traina, died by suicide. Nick was the lead singer of San Francisco punk bands Link 80 and Knowledge. To honor his memory, Steel wrote the nonfiction book His Bright Light, which details Nick’s life and death. The book reached The New York Times Non-Fiction Bestseller List, and its proceeds were used to create the Nick Traina Foundation, which Steel runs to support organizations addressing mental health issues. To raise awareness about children’s mental health, Steel has lobbied for legislation in Washington and previously held a fundraiser every two years in San Francisco, known as The Star Ball. In 2002, she founded the Yo Angel Foundation to help homeless individuals.

Writing style

Steel's novels, often called "formulaic," usually place characters in situations that challenge their relationships. The stories sometimes show the lives of wealthy or famous people and often address serious topics such as illness, death, loss, family problems, and relationships. Some people believe her popular storylines are inspired by events from her own life. Although critics sometimes call her work "fluff," Steel's books often examine difficult or dark parts of human nature, including incest, suicide, divorce, war, and the Holocaust. Over time, her writing has changed. In her later books, the main female characters are often stronger and more confident. If they do not receive the respect or attention they want from a man, they move on with their lives. In recent years, Steel has taken more chances with her stories. For example, Ransom focuses more on suspense than romance and follows three groups of characters whose lives become connected. Toxic Bachelors tells its story from the perspectives of three men who are afraid of relationships and eventually find love.

To avoid being compared to her earlier works, Steel does not write sequels. Many of her earliest books were printed in large numbers, such as 1 million copies. However, by 2004, her publisher reduced the initial print run to 650,000 copies because fewer people were buying books. At that time, her fan base remained very strong, and her books often sold out and topped charts worldwide.

Twenty-two of her books have been turned into television shows, and two received Golden Globe nominations. One is Jewels, which tells the story of a woman and her children surviving World War II in Europe and later rebuilding their lives as a famous jewelry family. In 1998, Columbia Pictures became the first movie studio to buy the rights to one of her novels, The Ghost. In 2005, Steel agreed to sell the film rights to 30 of her books for DVDs to New Line Home Entertainment.

Steel spends two to three years writing each book and works on multiple projects at the same time. She explains that her first step when starting a new story is to take notes about the characters. In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, she said, "I make notes for a while before I start writing an outline. The notes are mostly about the characters. I need to know the characters really well before I begin—what they are like, how they think, how they feel, what happened to them, and how they grew up." In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, she mentioned spending 20 to 30 hours at a time typing on her typewriter, which earned her both praise and criticism.

Steel writes all her books on Olympia SG1 typewriters. She uses two of them: one at her home in San Francisco and another at her home in Paris. The typewriter in San Francisco has been hers since she bought it secondhand for $20 while working on her first book.

Works

Danielle Steel has written more than 210 books, with over 182 of them being novels. Her books have been translated into 43 languages and are available in 69 countries around the world.

Her works include novels, non-fiction books, picture books, and two series of children's books: the Max & Martha series and the Freddie series.

Filmography

• The Promise (1979, movie shown in theaters)
• Now and Forever (1983, movie shown in theaters)
• Crossings (1986, TV series that runs for a short time)
• Kaleidoscope (1990, TV movie)
• Fine Things (1990, TV movie)
• Changes (1991, TV movie)
• Palomino (1991, TV movie)
• Daddy (1991, TV movie)
• Secrets (1992, TV movie)
• Jewels (1992, TV series that runs for a short time)
• Heartbeat (1993, TV movie)
• Star (1993, TV movie)
• Message from Nam (1993, TV movie)
• Once in a Lifetime (1994, TV movie)
• A Perfect Stranger (1994, TV movie)
• Family Album (1994, TV series that runs for a short time)
• Vanished (1995, TV movie)
• Zoya (1995, TV movie)
• Mixed Blessings (1995, TV movie)
• No Greater Love (1996, TV movie)
• Remembrance (1996, TV movie)
• Full Circle (1996, TV movie)
• The Ring (1996, TV movie)
• Safe Harbour (2007, released directly on video)