Paula Hawkins was born in Zimbabwe on August 26, 1972. She studied philosophy, politics, and economics at the University of Oxford. She worked as a journalist for fifteen years and wrote a financial advice book for women entitled The Money Goddess. Her first novel, The Girl on the Train, was published in 2015 and was released as a feature film in 2016. She made the Hollywood Reporter's ' 25 Most Powerful Authors' 2016 list, entering at number 19. Her title, Into the Water, made the IBook Bestsellers List in 2017.