Anne Rice, the Gothic author who wrote Interview With the Vampire alongside over 30 other novels, has died at the age of 80.
As reported by The New York Times, her son Christopher Rice wrote on his mother's Facebook page that she died from complications after a stroke.
"Dearest People of Page," Christopher wrote. "This is Anne's son Christopher and it breaks my heart to bring you this sad news. Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, and her husband Stan, died.
"The immensity of our family's grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional - she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions.
"In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California. As she kissed Anne goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, 'What a ride you took us on, kid.' I think we can all agree.
"Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career. Throughout much of her final years, your contributions to this page brought her much joy, along with a profound sense of friendship and community.
"Anne will be interred in our family's mausoleum at Metairie Cemetary in New Orleans in a private ceremony. Next year, a celebration of her life will take place in New Orleans. The event will be open to the public and will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout her life."
Anne Rice was relatively unknown before she turned a short story she wrote in the 1960s into Interview With the Vampire in 1974 - her first published novel and one that would change her life forever. While critics weren't initially positive on her story, the public couldn't get enough.
It quickly became a best seller and Rice would go on to write over a dozen follow-up novels in her Vampire Chronicles series, and her work is widely regarded as bringing the popularity of vampires into the modern era.
In 1994, Interview With a Vampire was adapted for the big screen, and Neil Jordan directed Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst in a film based on Rice's own screenplay.
While she found success in the world of vampires, she wasn't afraid to explore other types of stories. She wrote everything from a story about the careers of two castrati in Cry to Heaven to an erotic series known as the "Sleeping Beauty" novels under the name A.N. Roquelaure.
She was also a hit with her fans, who she said made her look like the most boring one in the room.
“When I go to my signings,” she told the ABC News program “Day One” in 1993, “I’m the most boring person there. Everybody else is dripping with velvet and lace, and bringing me dead roses wrapped in leather handcuffs, and I love it.”
Anne Rice was born Howard Allen O'Brien on October 4, 1941, in New Orleans. She had been named after her father, Howard, and would adopt the name Anne by the time she was in first grade.
Her mother died when she was 15, and her father remarried and moved their family to Texas. It was there, at her high school, that she would meet her future husband Stan Rice. After an "intense correspondence" in college, Stan would propose to Anne by mail.
They married in 1961 and Stan passed away in 2002. Rice is survived by their son Christopher and her sisters Karen O'Brien, Micki Jenkins, and Tamara Tinker.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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As reported by The New York Times, her son Christopher Rice wrote on his mother's Facebook page that she died from complications after a stroke.
"Dearest People of Page," Christopher wrote. "This is Anne's son Christopher and it breaks my heart to bring you this sad news. Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, and her husband Stan, died.
"The immensity of our family's grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional - she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions.
"In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California. As she kissed Anne goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, 'What a ride you took us on, kid.' I think we can all agree.
"Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career. Throughout much of her final years, your contributions to this page brought her much joy, along with a profound sense of friendship and community.
"Anne will be interred in our family's mausoleum at Metairie Cemetary in New Orleans in a private ceremony. Next year, a celebration of her life will take place in New Orleans. The event will be open to the public and will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout her life."
Anne Rice was relatively unknown before she turned a short story she wrote in the 1960s into Interview With the Vampire in 1974 - her first published novel and one that would change her life forever. While critics weren't initially positive on her story, the public couldn't get enough.
It quickly became a best seller and Rice would go on to write over a dozen follow-up novels in her Vampire Chronicles series, and her work is widely regarded as bringing the popularity of vampires into the modern era.
In 1994, Interview With a Vampire was adapted for the big screen, and Neil Jordan directed Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst in a film based on Rice's own screenplay.
While she found success in the world of vampires, she wasn't afraid to explore other types of stories. She wrote everything from a story about the careers of two castrati in Cry to Heaven to an erotic series known as the "Sleeping Beauty" novels under the name A.N. Roquelaure.
She was also a hit with her fans, who she said made her look like the most boring one in the room.
“When I go to my signings,” she told the ABC News program “Day One” in 1993, “I’m the most boring person there. Everybody else is dripping with velvet and lace, and bringing me dead roses wrapped in leather handcuffs, and I love it.”
Anne Rice was born Howard Allen O'Brien on October 4, 1941, in New Orleans. She had been named after her father, Howard, and would adopt the name Anne by the time she was in first grade.
Her mother died when she was 15, and her father remarried and moved their family to Texas. It was there, at her high school, that she would meet her future husband Stan Rice. After an "intense correspondence" in college, Stan would propose to Anne by mail.
They married in 1961 and Stan passed away in 2002. Rice is survived by their son Christopher and her sisters Karen O'Brien, Micki Jenkins, and Tamara Tinker.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Continue reading...