Born:  July 4, 1947                                      

City:  Troy, Alabama  

The third daughter born to:  Neatwood & Mary Parks

High School:  Louisville High School, Louisville, Alabama  

College:  Livingston State University

1978:  Traveled abroad to work at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Lived as a foreign resident in that oil-rich country until 1990.

Publishing History:  

1991:   The Rape of Kuwait was published and sold 1.2 million copies, reaching #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.

1992:   Princess:  A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia was published, selling three million copies worldwide, reaching the bestseller list in many countries, including the New York Times bestseller list in the United States.  (Morrow & Avon)  

1994:  Princess Sultana’s Daughters was published, selling nearly two million copies worldwide, reaching the bestseller list in many countries.  (Doubleday & Dell)

2000:  Princess Sultana’s Circle the third book in the Princess Trilogy, to be published in May 2000. 

Hobbies:    Travel and reading and collecting books.  Jean routinely reads four to five books per week.  She collects antique books written by early travelers to the Middle East and other exotic parts of the planet.

Minor Obsession:  Rescuing abandoned animals and placing them into good homes.   

Current Activity:  Although Jean makes her home in the Southern USA, she is a global traveler.  Against the advice of many well-meaning people, she recently took an extended trip into Iraq.  She is also an accomplished speaker, enthusiastically addressing any issue regarding human rights, and most specifically, women’s rights.  A theme that particularly intrigues her at this time is the subject of women’s issues in the new millennium.  What steps can be taken to elevate the status of women in every country?