Anne McCaffrey:
Dragonlady of Pern
Anne McCaffrey was born on April 1, 1926, to Colonel George McCaffrey, US Army, and Anne Dorothy McElroy McCaffrey. She had two brothers, Hugh McCaffrey, who died in 1988, and Kevin Richard McCaffrey, who provided the basis for Keevan in The Smallest Dragonboy.
She was interested in writing from an early age, producing her first novel in Latin class. Unfortunately, she was denied instant fame - and an A - by the fact that it was in plain old English. After finishing her education at Stuart Hall, Staunton, Virginia, and Montclair High School, Montclair, New Jersey, Annie went on to major in Slavonic Languages and Literature at Radcliffe College, graduating cum laude.
She then turned to the stage and became a character actress, appearing in the first successful summer music circus in Lambertsville, New Jersey. While studying voice for nine years (possibly an influence in the writing of the Crystal Singer series of books) she became interested in stage direction of opera and operetta and ended that phase of her life with the direction of the American premiere of Carl Orff's Ludus de Nato Infante Mirificus. As well as directing, she also played the role of a witch - an unusual role for a woman whom many have described as the nicest they have ever met!
Anne married in 1950 and has three children: Alec Anthony, b.1952; Todd, b1956; and Georganne, b.1959.
Although she used to make appearances throughout the world as guest of honor at science fiction conventions, arthritis has now restricted such travel. She lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill (because she had to dig out a hill on her farm to build it) in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is not remotely like a castle, "on purpose," she says to people who believe "hold" is synonymous with "castle" in Ireland.
Anne runs a private livery stable and her horses have been successful in horse trials and showjumping. She does not ride in competition, she hastens to add, but has enjoyed the success of horse and rider and is now once again able to ride out on her piebald mare, Pi.