--- title: J.K. Rowling Cassidy Stay: Why She's The Best Role Model Around description: The bestselling author's latest act of kindness toward a young reminds us why this reluctant role model is worth emulating canonical: https://time.com/3087567/another-inspiring-reason-we-should-all-be-more-like-j-k-rowling/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-07T13:39:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:25.549Z og:title: Why J.K. Rowling Is A Better Role Model Then Beyonce og:description: She's a reluctant hero, just like someone else we know og:url: https://time.com/3087567/another-inspiring-reason-we-should-all-be-more-like-j-k-rowling/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2db6dea7f035c77f/69869eacd0b6f2271f30599f/187481789.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2153 og:image:height: 1211 og:image:alt: JK Rowling Hosts Fundraising Event For Charity 'Lumos' og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why J.K. Rowling Is A Better Role Model Then Beyonce twitter:description: She's a reluctant hero, just like someone else we know twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2db6dea7f035c77f/69869eacd0b6f2271f30599f/187481789.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Another Reason We Should All Be More Like J.K. Rowling > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: JK Rowling Releasing Second Novel Under Galbraith Pen Name [Watch (HLS stream): JK Rowling Releasing Second Novel Under Galbraith Pen Name](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EuuP187U.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2014-02-17. What to do when past astronomical success overshadows your current work? Don’t claim your current work. Harry Potter author JK Rowling has another book coming out under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith._  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 7, 2014 1:39 PM UTC  Joanne "JK" Rowling attends a charity evening to raise funds for 'Lumos' a charity helping to reunite children in care with their families in Eastern Europe at Warner Bros Studios on November 9, 2013 in London, England. (Danny E. Martindale--Getty Images) Joanne "JK" Rowling attends a charity evening to raise funds for 'Lumos' a charity helping to reunite children in care with their families in Eastern Europe at Warner Bros Studios on November 9, 2013 in London, England. (Danny E. Martindale--Getty Images) Danny E. Martindale—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 7, 2014 1:39 PM UTC When she learned that 15-year old shooting survivor Cassidy Stay quoted _Harry Potter_ in the eulogy for her family after they were horrifically murdered in front of her, J.K. Rowling did a really nice thing. The author sent the teenager a care package that reportedly included a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts complete with a school supply list, and a personalized letter from “Dumbledore” hand-written in purple ink, according to a [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/wewantjkrowlingtomeetcassidystay/posts/1449974571930630) set up by Stay’s supporters. It’s one more example of why J.K. Rowling is the real deal, and we should all try to be more like her. She’s a better role model than Beyonce, Jennifer Lawrence, or any of the other celebrities we obsessively look to as examples for how to be. Here’s why: She’s not someone to emulate for any of the usual reasons. It’s not about upending notions about sexiness, or proving a point about “power women,” or getting really successful at a young age. She’s not begging us to follow her, which is exactly why we should. Many of the women we consider role models are famous for their sex appeal, because part of their cultural usefulness is providing sexual validation to us normal people. The attractiveness factor is deeply embedded in our ideas about “empowerment,” and the implication for a lot of these celebrations of women is, “Look! You can be sexy and powerful even if you’re (insert nontraditional thing.)” For example, Jennifer Lawrence is considered sexy “even though” she’s disheveled and outspoken, Laverne Cox is sexy even though she’s transgender, Adele is sexy even though she’s bigger than other rail-thin music stars, etc., etc. So even when we’re celebrating a diverse set of role models for being sexy in spite of oppressive cultural expectations, we’re celebrating their sexiness nonetheless. Of course, there are many influential women who are more concerned with power than sex: Sheryl Sandberg, Hillary Clinton, and Gloria Steinem, to name just a few. These are women who have become role models because of their fight for equality, and their identities have become wrapped up in high-profile personal brands attached to worthy causes (like _Lean In_). But these women are as famous as symbols or brands as they are for their actual contributions to their field. Just think: we know way more about Sheryl Sandberg as a feminist icon than we do about her work at Facebook. But J.K. Rowling is unusual in that her work is more famous than she is, and her contribution to the world has almost nothing to do with her own identity. Harry Potter is the figure that captured the imagination of millions of children, not J.K. Rowling. She’s an icon-maker, not an icon. It’s not really about her. Besides, there’s something especially inspirational about Rowling’s personal story. She was a single mom on welfare at the time she wrote the first Harry Potter book, desperately trying to make ends meet to support her daughter. Obviously she’s not the only powerful woman to go through some serious hardship– in fact, most good role models have overcome a good deal of adversity, that’s part of what makes them so admirable. But Rowling’s time as a single mother also meant Harry Potter wasn’t published until she was 32, much older than the “wunderkind” model of success we see in women like Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, and Malala Yousafzai. While all of these women have become role models for the incredible work they to in music, television, and global women’s rights, part of their appeal is how they got so successful so young (Swift is 24, Dunham is 28, Malala is just 17.) We admire their work, but we also admire their precociousness and sheer unusualness in doing it. J.K. Rowling got her start a lot later than most successful women, which meant the story of her accomplishments wasn’t enhanced by her youthfulness. So if J.K. Rowling doesn’t represent sex, power, or youth, then what does she represent? She is the kind of role model we get when we strip away all the other things we’ve been taught to admire in women and instead focus on the qualities we should actually idolize: work and kindness. J.K. Rowling writes excellent books, and that is all. She occasionally makes kind gestures to those in need, and her stories have helped millions of people through difficult times. She is not upending expectations about beauty, or leading movements for political change, nor did she achieve her dreams younger than other people achieved theirs. She’s not snazzy– she’s just good. In fact, Rowling is so uninterested in her personal brand that she’s even been writing under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, an experience she called “liberating.” She’s the role model who didn’t ask to be one, which kind of reminds us of a certain other reluctant hero, with a lightning scar on his forehead. ## Transcript [00:00] >>What to do when past astronomical success [00:03] overshadows your current work? Don't blame your current [00:06] work. Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling has another book [00:09] coming out under a pseudonym. [00:11] >>Robert Galbraith, Rowling's publisher Little Brown [00:15] announced the new book on Twitter, will be called The [00:18] Silkworm. [00:19] >>This isn't Robert Galbraith's first book. The first book with [00:23] that author's name, The Cuckoo's Calling flew off the [00:25] shelves after it was revealed Rowling was the true writer, [00:28] though sales were far more modest before the notoriety. [00:31] Once again Rowling has turned her work into a series. The [00:35] Silkworm, just like The Cuckoo's Calling will focus on main [00:37] character, [ unk ] a private detective. As to why she [00:41] decided to use a pen name, Rowling wrote on [00:45] Robertgalbraith. com, " I was yearning to go back to the [00:47] beginning of a writing career of this new genre to work [00:49] without hyper expectation and to receive totally [00:53] unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I [00:57] only wish it could have gone on a little longer ." Rowling [01:00] also made news in recent weeks suggesting she might [01:02] have had Harry Potter wed Hermione Granger in the [01:05] novels that made her famous. That headline led to a larger [01:08] online debate of her whether Rowling missed the chance [01:11] to end her signature series perfectly or if she had it right all [01:14] along matching Hermione with Ron Weasley. Rowling's, [01:18] ehem, Galbraith's latest novel is set for release on mid [01:21] June. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3087567/another-inspiring-reason-we-should-all-be-more-like-j-k-rowling/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3087567/another-inspiring-reason-we-should-all-be-more-like-j-k-rowling/"},"headline":"Another Reason We Should All Be More Like J.K. 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