Born on 10th December 1958, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Cornelia began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's best-selling author for children. Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.