Monica Ali was born on October 20, 1967, in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), to a Bangladeshi father and English mother. Her father worked as a teacher, and her mother was a counselor. However, due to their controversial interracial marriage, the Ali family emigrated to England in 1971 following a Civil War outbreak in Pakistan. Settling in Bolton, near Manchester, Ali went on to study at Oxford, where she completed a degree in an interdisciplinary program combining philosophy, politics, and economics. After university, Ali worked in the marketing department of a publishing house before going on to subsequent jobs in sales and marketing. She married consultant Simon Torrance, and in 1999, gave birth to her first child, a son named Felix. During this time off, Ali began experimenting with writing fiction. In 2001, Ali’s daughter, Shumi, was born; however, shortly afterward, Ali’s father died. This loss prompted her to reflect on family values and history, which subsequently encouraged the manuscript for her first novel, Brick Lane, published in May 2003. Following the success of Brick Lane, Ali continued to write professionally, publishing Alentejo Blue (2006), In the Kitchen (2009), and Untold Story (2011). Ali currently resides in London with her family.
