Terry McMillan is an author and professor known for her novels about the lives of African American women. She received her BA in Journalism from UC Berkley in 1977 and has worked as a professor at Stanford University and the University of Wyoming. Some of her most famous novels include Mama, Disappearing Acts, Waiting to Exhale, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Several of her novels were adapted into films. McMillan was married briefly to a man 20 years her junior but they divorced after he announced he was gay.

1. Terry McMillanWhy the World Needs Drama

2. Terry McMillanBorn October 18, 1951Received her BA in Journalism from the University of California, Berkley in 1977Worked as a writing professor at Stanford University and the University of Wyoming

3. The Many Faces of Terry McMillanUniversity ProfessorScreen WriterEditor AuthorNovelist

4. Terry McMillan BooksMama: A NovelDisappearing ActsBreaking IceWaiting to ExhaleHow Stella Got Her Groove BackA Day Late and a Dollar ShortThe Interruption of EverythingIts ok if you’re Clueless

5. Mama: A Novel1987Mama is a tale of Mildred Peacock, a feisty survivor who will do anything to keep her family together. In the world of Mildred, men and paychecks come and go, but her children are her hope, dream and future.

6. Disappearing Acts1989He was tall, dark as bittersweet chocolate, and impossibly gorgeous, with a woman-melting smile. She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker, and a not-quite-divorced daddy of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, songwriter. They meet in a Brooklyn Brownstone and there could be no walking away…..

7. Waiting to Exhale1992Terry McMillan has crafted a well-written, truthful, and funny story of four African-American women -- who are "sistuhs" trying to make it in this world we all live in -- and the sometimes volatile world of black female - black male relationships.

8. MoviesDisappearing ActsHow Stella Got Her Groove backWaiting to Exhale

9. Personal LifeMcMillan Married Jonathan Plummer in 1998. At the time, McMillan was 40, and Plummer was in his early 20’s. McMillan claimed Plummer to be the inspiration for the main Character in How Stella Got her Groove Back. However, in 2004 Plummer announced that he was gay, and McMillan filed for divorce. The divorce was settled for an Undisclosed amount of money.