"I'm more interested in interpersonal relationships - between lovers families, siblings. That's why I write about how we treat each other." -- Terry Mcmillan
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951, in Port Huron, Michigan) is an American author. Her interest in books comes from working at a library when she was sixteen. She received her BA in journalism in 1986 at University of California, Berkeley. Her work is characterized by strong female protagonists.
Her first book, Mama, was self-published. She achieved national attention in 1992 with her third novel, Waiting to Exhale, which remained on The New York Times bestseller list for many months. In 1995, Forest Whitaker turned it into a film starring Whitney Houston. In 1998, another of McMillan's novels, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, was made into a movie. McMillan's novel Disappearing Acts was subsequently produced as a direct-to-cable feature, starring Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan. She also wrote the best sellerA Day Late and a Dollar Short. The Interruption of Everything was published on July 19, 2005. Getting to Happy, the long-awaited sequel to Waiting to Exhale, was published on September 7, 2010.
"Can't nothing make your life work if you ain't the architect.""Few writers are willing to admit writing is autobiographical.""I'm a fast writer.""It takes me forever to say my prayers these days, but I don't care, because this time around, I want to make sure God doesn't have to do any guesswork.""My stories are character driven.""There is a price for popularity. Critics look for your weaknesses, your flaws, anything that makes the work seem like a fluke and not seem worthy of all the attention it's getting."
McMillan married Jamaican native Jonathan Plummer in 1998. When they married, McMillan was in her mid 40s, Plummer, his early 20s; he was the inspiration for the love interest of the main character in the book How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Her life did not follow the movie when in December 2004, Plummer told McMillan that he was gay; in March 2005, she filed for divorce. The divorce was settled for an undisclosed amount. In March 2007, McMillan sued Plummer and his lawyer for $40 million citing an intentional strategy to embarrass and humiliate her during the divorce proceedings; McMillan eventually won a judgement intentional infliction of emotional distress but had also withdrew the suit before the case went to trial, and Plummer was never ordered to pay the intended amount.
On September 27, 2010, the two sat together with Oprah Winfrey to discuss their post-divorce relationship and partial reconciliation; both acknowledged that he fulfilled the role of boyfriend and husband before his coming-out, although McMillan stated that "he's not my BFF".