Harry Potter has cultivated a die-hard fandom of Potterheads who know everything from their Hogwarts house to the correct pronunciation of “Wingardium Leviosa.”
J.K. Rowling began writing the acclaimed children series in 1990 while on a delayed train from Manchester, England, to King’s Cross station in London. The story follows 11-year-old Harry — an orphan raised by his mean aunt and uncle — who discovers that he’s a wizard. The U.K. native eventually conceptualized the plot into a seven-part book series over the years.
Rowling told CBS News in 2003 that writing was difficult for her as a single mother to her daughter, Jessica, and living off of welfare.
“I’d walk around Edinburgh pushing her in the pushchair and wait till she fell asleep. And then I would literally run to the nearest cafe and write for as long as she stayed asleep,” she said at the time, adding that her book was rejected by “four of five publishers” before she landed a contract.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in the U.K. in 1997. Rowling sold the book to Scholastic, which distributes the story under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in the United States. The release marked the start of a worldwide phenomenon with more than 500 million copies sold worldwide.
As fans became more enthralled by the Wizarding World, Rowling began to feel the pressure to publish new books faster. After rushing to finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — which clocked in at 636 pages — she decided it was time to slow down.
“The pressure of it had become overwhelming,” she told the New Yorker in 2012. “I found it difficult to write, which had never happened to me before in my life. The intensity of the scrutiny was overwhelming. I had been utterly unprepared for that. And I needed to step back. Badly needed to step back.”
The first book was adapted into the 2001 movie of the same name starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. The film franchise — which earned more than $7 billion at the box office — ultimately sparked the prequel series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Universal Studios also developed the fantasy series into two theme parks at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood in California.
Scroll down to see a list of celebrities who love Harry Potter.
The rapper explained that the boy wizard influenced him not only in his writing but also his determination to succeed. “When I was in the second grade, I went to an elementary school that had a competitive program,” Harlow said While accepting his award for Variety’s Hitmaker of Tomorrow in December 2021. “You could read a book and then take a quiz on that book, and if you passed the quiz, indicating you had really read the book, you would get awarded a certain amount of points. The bigger more challenging the book, the more points you earned. I read every book I could find. I read all the Harry Potter books. Boy, those Harry Potter books are worth some points." At the end of the school year, the top three readers were announced with fifth graders being in the third and second spots. Harlow, as a second grader, won by a landslide. "It was a competition and it brought out the competitor in me, which is a big part of the genre I’m in," he explained. "All that reading is what made me the writer I am now, and I’m pretty sure it’s what’s going to make me the Hitmaker of Tomorrow." Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The “Havana” singer joined the fandom later than most, tweeting in all caps in January 2015, “Is it too late to join the Harry Potter fandom.” David Fisher/Shutterstock
The Powerpuff Girls star revealed her Potterhead status in January 2014 when a Twitter user told her that she looked like the popular Gryffindor wizard. She replied, “I am Harry Potter.” Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
In November 2010, the Masked Singer alum tweeted her excitement to see the latest movie, adding that Watson’s performance was a particular favorite. Larry Marano/Shutterstock
The Wizards of Waverly Place alum spent one of her days off at Harry Potter Land in Orlando in July 2011. She had fun with her friends and even tried some butterbeer, she revealed on Twitter and Facebook. Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
Speaking with The Daily Beast in 2012, Lawrence admitted she loved both Twilight and Harry Potter. While she called Stephenie Meyer’s first vampire book “awesome,” she much preferred Harry Potter. “I’m more of a Harry Potter freak,” she said at the time. “I read all the books three or four times. I know every spell or incantation. I end up speaking sometimes in Harry Potter terms.” NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The Tom and Jerry actress went as Bellatrix Lestrange for Halloween in 2012, complete with authentic hair and makeup, she shared via Instagram at the time. Blair Raughley/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The Victorious alum posed with her very own Harry Potter wand on Instagram in June 2012, joking at the time that she’s "getting the hang of this magic thing.” Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup/Shutterstock
The Suits alum shared her 2017 Emmy’s outfit via Twitter, which looked like an “off-day” Gryffindor ensemble, complete with a robe, scarf and wand. Jason Merritt/Radarpics/Shutterstock
The Game of Thrones alum told The Cut in September 2017 that he has a secret passion for Harry Potter, claiming he’s “pretty good” with franchise knowledge. Harington is “obviously” a Gryffindor, he points out. “No one wants to be Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw is boring, Slytherin is full of psychos, as people know,” he said at the time. While he hadn’t met J.K. Rowling at the time of the interview, he admitted he would love to because he “admires her immensely,” stating that she’s fabulous and that he’d love to have a role in one of the Fantastic Beasts films. “I don’t know if I would want to be a goodie or baddie, I just know I want to hold a wand,” he continued. “I know exactly how I’d hold a wand — you know how Ralph Fiennes does it, with his hand up, that’s what I’d do.” Matt Baron/Shutterstock
The Jungle Cruise star revealed via Twitter in April 2016 that he’s a proud Hufflepuff. Matt Baron/Shutterstock
During a November 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Drake was excited to chat about his love for the franchise. For four years, the “Hotline Bling” rapper chased down a first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that retailed for $160,000. When asked if he was familiar with the series during the interview, Drake said with a big smile, “Yeah, I read them all." Rob Latour/Shutterstock
The Hamilton creator dished via Twitter that he’s a Slytherin because “you know why.” Kristina Bumphrey/Shutterstock
When the singer went on The Late Late Show With James Corden in June 2018, he dished about his deep love for the franchise. Mendes even donned an official robe, striped tie, round glasses and a wand for a portion of the “Carpool Karaoke” segment. David Fisher/Shutterstock
The "7 Rings" singer named three of her dogs Sirius Black, Snape and Lily in tribute of Harry's godfather, professor and mother. Grande also bonded over the series with her ex-fiancé, Pete Davidson. The former couple made their Instagram debut in May 2018 wearing Gryffindor and Slytherin robes, respectively. Broadimage/Shutterstock
The Gossip Girl alum proved she's no casual fan of the series when she challenged Jimmy Fallon to a Harry Potter quiz on The Tonight Show in June 2016. While the talk-show host named common famous characters such as Harry, Hermione and Ron, Lively shouted out more obscure names like Cornelius Fudge, Professor Umbridge, Filch and Buckbeak. Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
The Saturday Night Live star has a tattoo of the triangular Deathly Hallows symbol on his arm. Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
The former One Direction member celebrated his birthday with an elaborate Harry Potter cake in August 2015. Three months later, he revealed on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show that he had purchased the Weasley family's car used during the filming of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “I bought the Harry Potter car and I put it in my garden," he said at the time. Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
"Not gonna lie, I'm obsessed with Harry Potter now, I've watched 5 movies in 3 days since I've been to the studio tour," the "Nice to Meet Ya" singer tweeted in July 2014. David Fisher/Shutterstock
"I'm in Gryffindor, obviously ... but I totally rigged my answers [on the Pottermore quiz]," the Suicide Squad star told Elle in 2016. "I could totally tell which answers were going to get me into Gryffindor, and so those were my answers. I do think I'd be in Gryffindor anyway, but I definitely manipulated the quiz in my favor. I wouldn't have been bummed with Ravenclaw, though." Matt Baron/Shutterstock
The royal trio visited the Harry Potter set at the Warner Bros. Studios in London in 2013, where they received a lesson on proper wand usage. Shutterstock
The actress described herself as an "obsessive Harry Potter fan" before she was cast as Luna Lovegood in 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. "It's quite embarrassing," she said on the "Talking Tastebuds" podcast in June 2020. "I did everything, I queued up for the books, I wrote fan mail to Daniel Radcliffe and got his autograph, and I wrote fan mail to JK Rowling. It was so weird to go from being a fan that used to stalk Daniel Radcliffe to being someone people send fan mail to." Rob Latour/Variety/Shutterstock
The former president of the United States told Rowling in July 2009 that he's a huge fan of the series and even read the books to his daughters, Malia and Sasha. CBS
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