Terry McMillan | |
|---|---|
 McMillan at the 2008Brooklyn Book Festival | |
| Born | (1951-10-18)October 18, 1951 (age 74) Port Huron, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | Waiting to Exhale (1992) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1996) A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2001) The Interruption of Everything (2006) Getting to Happy (2010) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 (son) |
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist known for her vivid portrayals of African American women's lives, relationships, and journeys of self-discovery. Her best-selling works, includingWaiting to Exhale andHow Stella Got Her Groove Back, have resonated widely for their humor, authenticity, and emotional insight. McMillan's contributions have influenced contemporary fiction and continue to shape the representation of Black women in literature and film.
The oldest of five children, McMillan was born inPort Huron, Michigan.[1] Her father died when she was a teenager, and McMillan was raised by her single mother, who worked forFord Motor Co. and who stressed the importance of education.[2][3] McMillan was introduced to literature while working at the localPort Huron library at age 16–previously, she had only had access to assigned school readings and the Bible.[4] After high school, she moved to Los Angeles where she stayed with a cousin who lived across the street fromLos Angeles City College.[1][2] Upon learning that she could attend for free, McMillan enrolled and began taking writing classes there while working as a secretary forPrudential Insurance Company.[2] She is the first in her family to attend college.[1] McMillan began writing in earnest at the college after a friend asked if he could publish a poem of hers for his new Black literary magazine.[4]
After transferring to theUniversity of California at Berkeley with a scholarship, McMillan considered majoring in sociology because she "care[d] about the human race"; however, an advisor, who had read her articles inThe Daily Californian, the school newspaper, encouraged her to consider a major related to writing.[5][2] Initially skeptical that she could make money as a writer, McMillan did go on to receive aB.A. degree in journalism in 1977.[5] She later realized that journalism was not the best pathway either as one has to "tell the truth," and she wanted to tell stories.[1] McMillan attended the Master of Fine Arts program in film atColumbia University.[6] McMillan stated that she dropped out due to racism she experienced there.[4]
In 1976, McMillan published her first short story, "The End," while still in college. She then submitted a collection of short stories to Houghton Mifflin, and they expressed interest in a novel she had mentioned but declined to publish her collection.[4]
McMillan's first book,Mama, was published in 1987.[7] TheHarlem Writers Guild had encouraged her to expand one of her short stories of the same name into the novel format. McMillan worked for a month and a half at theMacDowell andYaddo artist colonies while writing.[4] Unsatisfied with her publisher's limited promotion ofMama, McMillan promoted her own debut novel by writing to thousands of booksellers, particularlyAfrican-American bookstores, and the book soon sold out of its initial first hardcover printing of 5,000 copies.[3] Many of these were presales, and she set up readings and her own book tour to continue the book's promotion as well.[4]
In 1987, McMillan taught at theUniversity of Wyoming, moving to theUniversity of Arizona in 1989. That year, she publishedDisappearing Acts, examining doomed Black romantic relationships, inspired by one of her own.[4]
In 1990, McMillan created an anthology of Black writing inBreaking Ice: An Anthology of African-American Fiction. She had been dismayed by the lack of Black writers in school curricula as a child, and now as a professor, and wanted to showcase acclaimed and up-and-coming Black authors for people to engage with.[4]
McMillan achieved national attention in 1992 with her third novel,Waiting to Exhale. At the time, it was the second largest paperback book deal in publishing history.[8] The book remained onThe New York Timesbestseller list for many months and by 1995 it had sold more than three million copies. The novel contributed to a shift in Black popular cultural consciousness and the visibility of a female Black middle-class identity in popular culture. McMillan was credited with having introduced the interior world of Black women professionals in their thirties who are successful, alone, available, and unhappy.[9] In 1995, the novel was adapted into afilm of the same title, directed byForest Whitaker and starringWhitney Houston,Angela Bassett,Loretta Devine, andLela Rochon.
In 1998, another of McMillan's novels,How Stella Got Her Groove Back, was adapted into afilm by the same name starringAngela Bassett andTaye Diggs.
McMillan's novelDisappearing Acts was subsequently produced as a direct-to-cable featureby the same name in 2000, starringWesley Snipes andSanaa Lathan and directed byGina Prince-Bythewood. In 2014,Lifetime brought McMillan'sA Day Late and a Dollar Short to television audiences, starringWhoopi Goldberg and an ensemble cast featuringVing Rhames,Tichina Arnold,Mekhi Phifer,Anika Noni Rose, andKimberly Elise. McMillan also wroteThe Interruption of Everything (2006) andGetting to Happy (2010), the sequel toWaiting to Exhale. In 2024, McMillian signed a partnership withLifetime to executive produce a series of movies which would appear under the banner of "Terry McMillan Presents".[10]
McMillan married Jonathan Plummer in 1998, who came out as gay during their marriage. In March 2005, she filed for divorce.[11]
On July 13, 2012, she sold her 7,000-square-foot home inDanville, California, before moving to Los Angeles, California.
McMillan has one child, a son, Solomon.
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