Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland to an ear and eye surgeon father and revolutionary poet mother. He became famous in England and the United States as a playwright and author, writing comedies such as Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest that mocked Victorian society. In the 1890s, Wilde began a romantic relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas and was subsequently tried and convicted of homosexuality, receiving a sentence of two years of hard labor. He died in exile in Paris at the age of 46, impoverished and in poor health after his release from prison.