Colleen McCullough was born in Australia.? A neuropathologist, she established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North SHore Hospital in Sydney before working as a researcher and teacher at Yale Medical School for ten years.? Her writing career began with the publication of"Tim", followed by "The""Thorn Birds", a record-breaking international bestseller.?She lives with her husband, Ric Robinson, on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific.