Late Bloomer Biographies

Veteran Don Mittelstaedt: Still Blooming at 92!

He’s blind in one eye and finds walking difficult, but WWII photographer Don Mittelstaedt embraced new technology and made a documentary at age 92.

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Interview With Sci Fi Author Lindsay Edmunds

A guy and a computer both fall in love with a girl. Interesting times ensue.

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Ruth Flowers: Rockin’ Retirement

One of Europe’s best loved DJs is an English granny who ran a fabric store! In case you’re wondering, she prefers electro rock to house music.

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Charles Perrault: Cinderella’s Secretary

Charles Perrault worked as a secretary for King Louis XIV. After retirement, he transcribed his most important work, Tales From Mother Goose.

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Wallace Stevens: A Case Of Poetic Justice

At age 75, Wallace Stevens won the Pulitzer for poetry while serving as VP of Hartford Insurance. How did he reconcile this double life?

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Ina Garten: The Barefoot Late Bloomer

She’s neither barefoot, nor a contessa, nor even Italian for that matter. But she was a nuclear power analyst. Ina Garten’s delicious story.

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Julia Child: Eat Well, Live Big, Bloom Late!

How can you not love Julia Child? She was 6′ of bonhomie, exuberant passion, in love with food and with life. And she waited until age 36 to find it!

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Sharon Penman Takes On William Shakespeare

Why, with that name, did Penman considered anything other than writing? A dastardly deed derailed her, but she finally bested Shakespeare!

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How Leo Fender Found His Groove

He’s been called “The Henry Ford of electric guitar.” But this late-blooming rock innovator didn’t even know how to play an instrument!

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P.D. James: From Civil Servant to Literary Royalty

PD James retired from the Home Office after writing eight successful mysteries. Today, at age 90, she’s a baroness and still going strong!

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Happy Birthday, J.K. Rowling!

The first Harry Potter book only had a 1000-copy run. J.K. Rowling spent a year hawking it while getting a teaching certificate. And then magic happened…

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Raymond Chandler’s Simple Art of Murder

In which I revisit Chandler’s classic 1944 Atlantic Monthly essay on genre writing.

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6 Late-Blooming Athletes To Get You Going

Six people who found their inner athlete after age 50! Featuring two bodybuilders, a boxer, kayaker, marathoner and mountain climber.

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The Love Song Of Charles Robert Darwin, Part 3

Part 3 of 3. Wherein 50-year-old Charles finishs The Origin of Species and tells Emma he will abide by her decision to publish or not. A true test of love.

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The Love Song Of Charles Robert Darwin, Part 2

Meet Charles Darwin. Not the white-bearded old man, but a ruddy-faced loafer who preferred beetle collecting to school work. Part 2 of 3.

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The Love Song Of Charles Robert Darwin, Part 1

Part 1 of a series about Charles Darwin — trust fund slacker, med school dropout, and late-blooming author of an idea that rocked the world.

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Mrs. Benz Borrows The Car

The next time you see a Mercedes on the highway, think of Bertha Benz, the daring gal who took the very first test drive at age 39!

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Five Things You Didn’t Know About Ian Fleming

You might have heard Fleming was a playboy and spymaster before he penned Casino Royale at age 44. But did you also know he wrote a famous children’s book?

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