Hans Christian Andersen
Children's Author
About
Renowned Danish author of timeless fairy tales such as The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and Thumbelina. His works have been translated into more than a hundred languages and are frequently referenced in Western culture.
Before Fame
His family was poor, and he was forced to support himself at a young age by working as an apprentice for both a weaver and a tailor. In his mid-teens, he left for Copenhagen with the ambition of becoming an actor.
Trivia
Several of his fairy tales were made into live-action and animated films.
Family Life
He was the only child of Anne Marie Andersdatter and Hans Andersen. His sexuality was somewhat ambiguous, and he neither married nor had children; the one woman he proposed to rejected him in 1844.
Associated With
He was good friends with Charles Dickens.
