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Melissa de la Cruz
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Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz (born September 7, 1971) is a Filipina-American writer known for young adult fiction. Her young-adult series include Au Pairs, Blue Bloods, and The Beauchamp Family.
Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines. She has wanted to be an author since she was eleven years old.
She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1985 when she was 13 and they settled in San Francisco, where she graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. She studied art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. After graduation she worked as a computer consultant.
De la Cruz wrote her first full-length novel at 22 while living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust. That novel did not sell, but an editor at Little, Brown and Company suggested she become a journalist to work on her professional writing credits. She started working freelance and published her first essay in New York Press in 1996. She also worked as a beauty and fashion editor until she sold her debut novel, The Cat's Meow, in 1998. De la Cruz has published articles in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine. After publication of her debut novel in 2001, and layoff from her job at Morgan Stanley, she pursued writing full-time.
Work as a fashion writer for Marie Claire was the inspiration for How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003) by de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz. Work as a nanny and visits to The Hamptons formed the background for her 2004 to 2007 series The Au Pairs. De la Cruz has also written original novels for Disney's Descendants franchise, with the first published in 2015.
On February 3rd, 2026, De la Cruz published Sibylline, and it was recommended as part of the Good Morning America Book Club for Teens. De la Cruz received backlash for the book being marketed for teenagers, while containing a sexually explicit, non-consensual threesome between the three main characters, with readers describing it as necrophilia due to one character being considered dead by the others.
De la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, another writer, with whom she co-wrote the Heart of Dread series. They and their daughter live in West Hollywood, California.
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Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz (born September 7, 1971) is a Filipina-American writer known for young adult fiction. Her young-adult series include Au Pairs, Blue Bloods, and The Beauchamp Family.
Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines. She has wanted to be an author since she was eleven years old.
She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1985 when she was 13 and they settled in San Francisco, where she graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. She studied art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. After graduation she worked as a computer consultant.
De la Cruz wrote her first full-length novel at 22 while living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust. That novel did not sell, but an editor at Little, Brown and Company suggested she become a journalist to work on her professional writing credits. She started working freelance and published her first essay in New York Press in 1996. She also worked as a beauty and fashion editor until she sold her debut novel, The Cat's Meow, in 1998. De la Cruz has published articles in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine. After publication of her debut novel in 2001, and layoff from her job at Morgan Stanley, she pursued writing full-time.
Work as a fashion writer for Marie Claire was the inspiration for How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003) by de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz. Work as a nanny and visits to The Hamptons formed the background for her 2004 to 2007 series The Au Pairs. De la Cruz has also written original novels for Disney's Descendants franchise, with the first published in 2015.
On February 3rd, 2026, De la Cruz published Sibylline, and it was recommended as part of the Good Morning America Book Club for Teens. De la Cruz received backlash for the book being marketed for teenagers, while containing a sexually explicit, non-consensual threesome between the three main characters, with readers describing it as necrophilia due to one character being considered dead by the others.
De la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, another writer, with whom she co-wrote the Heart of Dread series. They and their daughter live in West Hollywood, California.
Short stories
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