Born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1972, Rebecca Skloot was first introduced to the story of Henrietta Lacks’ HeLa cells while taking classes in a community college. The idea of HeLa and the woman behind the cells is what led this author to research and publish the story of Henrietta and the Lacks family. But I order for her to write the book, Ms. Skloot had to get an education first, so she can boast a bachelor degree in biological sciences and a MFA in creative nonfiction. She paid for her degrees through different jobs and taught to the University of Memphis, the University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. Upon completing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca founded and presided over The Henrietta Lacks Foundation that helps aid Henrietta’s descendants through partial book sale prices, grants and donations.
Rebecca Skloot now lives in Chicago, but often travels back to West Virginia. She’s an avid knitter and is currently working on a new book.