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Cecelia Ahern

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Cecelia Ahern
Ahern in 2018
Ahern in 2018
Born (1981-09-30) 30 September 1981 (age 43)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationNovelist
EducationGriffith College, Dublin
Period2002–present
GenreRomance
Young adult
Notable worksPS, I Love You
Where Rainbows End
If You Could See Me Now
Spouse
David Keoghan
​
(m. 2010)​
[1]
Children3
ParentsBertie Ahern (father)
Miriam Ahern (mother)
Website
www.cecelia-ahern.com

Cecelia Ahern (born 30 September 1981) is an Irish novelist, known for her works like PS, I Love You; Where Rainbows End; and If You Could See Me Now. Born in Dublin, Ahern is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over 25 million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as major motion films. The short story collection Roar has been adapted as a series for Apple TV+.

She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. She has published several novels and contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies. Ahern also created and produced the ABC comedy Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate.

Life

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Ahern is the daughter of former Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Bertie Ahern and Miriam Ahern. Her older sister, Georgina Ahern, is married to Nicky Byrne of Irish pop group Westlife. In 2000, Ahern was part of the Irish pop group Shimma, who finished third in the Irish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Before starting her writing and producing career, she obtained a degree in journalism and media communications from Griffith College Dublin, but withdrew from a master's degree course to pursue her writing career.[2]

Ahern married David Keoghan in 2010. They have three children: a daughter born in December 2009,[3] a son born in July 2012[4][5] and another daughter born in October 2019.[6] As of 2015, they reside in Malahide in North County Dublin.[7] She had COVID-19 in early 2022, describing it as "kind of mild. I was lucky".[8]

Career

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Ahern being interviewed during the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair
Cecelia Ahern at Buch Wien 2022

In 2002, when Ahern was twenty-one, she wrote her first novel, PS, I Love You. Published in 2004, it was the number 1 bestseller in Ireland (for 19 weeks), the United Kingdom, U.S., Germany and the Netherlands. It is sold in over forty countries. The book was adapted as a motion picture directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. It was released in the United States on 21 December 2007.[9]

Her second book, Where Rainbows End (U.S. Love, Rosie), also reached number 1 in Ireland and the UK, and won the German CORINE Award in 2005.[9] It was adapted as a motion picture titled Love, Rosie which was released in 2014, directed by Christian Ditter and starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

She has contributed to charity books with the royalties from short stories such as Irish Girls are Back in Town and Ladies' Night.

Cecelia was the co-creator and producer of the ABC comedy Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate, Jean Smart, Jennifer Esposito, Barry Watson, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCarthy and Tim Russ.[9]

Her book The Gift was published just before Christmas 2008 in the UK.[9] Her following book, The Book of Tomorrow, was published on 1 October 2009. In 2016, Cecelia released Flawed, her first book for young adults, and Lyrebird.

Awards and achievements

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Cecelia was nominated for Best Newcomer 2004/5 at the British Book Awards for her debut novel PS, I Love You. She won the 2005 Irish Post Award for Literature and a 2005 Corine Literature Prize for her second book Where Rainbows End, (Für immer vielleicht) which was voted for by German readers. In 2006, she was long-listed for the IMPAC award for PS I Love You. Cosmopolitan US honoured her with a Fun Fearless Fiction Award 2007 for If You Could See Me Now. Irish Tatler awarded her Writer of the Year at the Woman of the Year awards in 2009. Cecelia's fifth novel Thanks for the Memories was nominated for Most Popular Book in the British Book Awards 2008. Cecelia was voted Author of Year in the UK Glamour Women of the Year Awards in 2008.

Bibliography

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Short stories

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  • 24 Minutes in Moments (2004)
  • Next Stop: Table For Two in Short and Sweet (2005)
  • The Calling in Irish Girls Are Back in Town (2005)
  • Mrs. Whippy (2006)
  • The End in Girls' Night In (2006)
  • Girl in the Mirror (2010)
  • Roar (2018)

Other work

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Production Line for Express Magazine

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  • Every Year for "Harrod's Magazine"
  • The Things That I Remember for "Woman's Own"
  • Remembering Mum for "Express Magazine"
  • Mallard and May for "Woman and Home"

Television work

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  • Samantha Who? (with Donald Todd)
  • Zwischen Himmel und Hier (Between Heaven and Here) (for ZDF)
  • Mein Ganzes Halbes Leben (My Whole Half Life) (for ZDF)

Film adaptations

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References

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  1. ^ Biography for Cecelia Ahern at IMDb
  2. ^ Jarlath Regan (20 December 2015). "Cecelia Ahern". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (118 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Cecelia Ahern gives birth to baby girl". BBC World News. The BBC. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  4. ^ Sweeney, Ken (26 March 2012). "Cecelia expecting summer baby". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  5. ^ Butler, Laura (27 July 2012). "Baby boy for Cecelia and David". Herald.ie. Herald.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Cecelia Ahern Opts For Unusual Name As She Welcomes Third Child". 7 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  7. ^ "PS it's a secret! Best seller Cecelia Ahern keeps earnings private with undiscoverable accounts". evoke.ie. 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. ^ Hayes, Liadan (24 April 2022). "Cecelia Ahern: 'This is the first time I was an executive producer. Nicole Kidman was amazing – of course she is!'". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2022. When we speak, she is just over a bout of Covid. 'Thankfully it was kind of mild. I was lucky'.
  9. ^ a b c d Cecelia Ahern's Official Biography, archived from the original on 4 December 2007, retrieved 31 December 2007
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