Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist and philosopher. Ayn Rand's more famous novels include the following 'Atlas Shrugged', 'The Fountainhead', 'Anthem', 'We The Living'. Ayn Rand died on March 6, 1982, leaving behind the legacy of her brilliant work. She shot to fame with her best-selling novels and by developing a philosophical system called 'Objectivism'. Even today, her works are admired by people all over the world. In this article, we have provided a brief biography of Ayn Rand, who is a role model for the aspiring novelists.

Early Life
Ayn Rand was born as Alissa Rosenbaum on February 2, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. From an early age, she showed her keen interest in literature and films. She started writing screenplays and novels, at the tender age of seven. She graduated from the University of Petrograd in History, at the age of 21. In 1926, Rand moved to the United States, and took her surname from the typewriter she used, a Remington-Rand. Rand started to study English, working as a junior screenwriter, between years 1926 and 1932.

Career
Rand wrote screenplays for Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1934-35, she was a free-lance script reader for RKO Pictures, then worked with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, later on. In Hollywood, she also met Frank O'Connor, an actor, whom she married. Rand's first novel, 'We The Living', appeared in 1936. Her breakthrough work came with the courtroom play 'Night of The January 16th, where the audience was asked to determine the verdict. While collecting material for "The Fountainhead", Rand worked without pay as a typist for Eli Jacques Kahn, and architect in New York City. With Hal Wallis Productions Rand had a special contract, which committed her to work only six months of each year. During the other six months she pursued her own writing.

In Hollywood, Rand worked until 1949, when she became a full-time writer and lecturer. She was a visiting lecturer at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1960), Princeton University, New Jersey (1960), Columbia University, New York (1960, 1962), University of Wisconsin (1961), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (1961), Harvard University, Cambridge (1962), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (1962).

Life's Philosophy - Objectivism
Ayn Rand philosophy "Objectivism" is based on the premise that reality is an objective absolute. As per her philosophy, one must perceive and understand reality to survive. One's highest value should be one's ability to reason. This also manifested in the way Rand viewed her own life, not through feelings but through her interest in ideas and her thinking. Rand's Objectivist philosophy was very popular among college students. They were attracted by her instructions to heed one's self-interest, and to maximize the superman potential without social conscience. Rand published her manifestoes in The Objectivist Newsletter, in the early 1960s.