JK Rowling comes from a long line of single mums
The Harry Potter author discovered her lone parent family history on a BBC TV show.
British author Joanne Rowling has discovered that there is a long history of single mums within her family, after appearing on the show Who Do You Think You Are?
Not only was Joanne's great-grandmother Lizzie a lone parent but also her great-great-grandmother Salome and her great-great-great-grandmother Christine.
"What I'm very struck by is how many single mothers I'm descended from in this line of the family. There's a definite parallel here," Jo said in the Radio Times.
Finding out that many of her French ancestors also raised their children as single parents was emotional for Joanne, who 'cried three times' during filming.
The author has spoken out before about how hard it was raising her daughter as a single mum in a one-bedroomed flat and living on benefits, whilst writing Harry Potter.
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Now, Joanne is worth around £1 billion.
Joanne divorced husband Jorge Arantes in 1995 and the couple had one daughter, Jessica, who is now 18 and living with Joanne in Edinburgh. Joanne remarried and has another daughter and a son with new husband, Neil Murray.
Joanne went on the show after her mum, who died at the age of 45 with multiple sclerosis, never had the chance to explore their family's French heritage.
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