Agatha Christie
Novelist
Considered the "Queen of Crime," this British mystery writer became known for works such as Murder on the Orient Express and The Mousetrap. She was the 1955 recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award.
At a young age, she began to show a talent for storytelling and she also invented several imaginary friends. In her mid-teens, she attended a finishing school in Paris, France.
She was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling novelist in history; many of her popular novels were also made into films.
She had one daughter, Rosalind, with her first husband, Archibald Christie. She later married archaeologist Max Mallowan.
Raymond Chandler, the hard-boiled crime author, criticized her literary skills.