--- description: The Harry Potter author also shared message expressing her condolences to Rickman's wife, Rima. title: See How J.K. Rowling Reacted to Alan Rickman's Death image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59637aea03291523/698879155f570f5f60b1f304/gettyimages-469050012.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrity](/tag/celebrity/) ## celebrity Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See How J.K. Rowling Reacted to Alan Rickman's Death by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 14, 2016 3:24 PM CUT  Author J.K. Rowling marks the US launch of her non-profit organization at The Empire State Building on April 9, 2015 in New York City. Author J.K. Rowling marks the US launch of her non-profit organization at The Empire State Building on April 9, 2015 in New York City.Cindy Ord—Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 14, 2016 3:24 PM CUT British actor Alan Rickman, known to Harry Potter fans as Professor Severus Snape, has [died at age 69](http://time.com/4180354/alan-rickman-dead/ "undefined"). Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took to her very popular [Twitter feed](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling "undefined") to share her reaction to the news, which she called shocking and devastating. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/687642690301890560) A few minutes later, the author shared another message, expressing her condolences to Rickman’s wife, Rima. After 40 years together, the couple [wed](http://www.people.com/article/alan-rickman-married-rima-horton "undefined") in a secret, private ceremony in 2012. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/687644178113802240) Several of Rickman’s Harry Potter co-stars have [shared](http://time.com/4180432/alan-rickman-death-harry-potter-cast-reactions/ "undefined") tributes, memories and messages of mourning as well. ### Alan Rickman: A Career in Pictures  Die Hard, 1988. 20th Century Fox  Truly, Madly, Deeply, 1990. BBC Films  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991. Warner Bros.  Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, 1996. Getty Images  Dogma, 1999. Lionsgate  Galaxy Quest, 1999. DreamWorks Pictures  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001. Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  Love Actually, 2003. Universal Pictures  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007. DreamWorks Pictures  The Butler, 2013. The Weinstein Company ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4180485/alan-rickman-death-jk-rowling-tweet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4180485/alan-rickman-death-jk-rowling-tweet/"},"headline":"See How J.K. Rowling Reacted to Alan Rickman's Death","datePublished":"2016-01-14T15:24:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:43.659Z","description":"\"He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man\"","url":"https://time.com/4180485/alan-rickman-death-jk-rowling-tweet/","keywords":["celebrity","Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59637aea03291523/698879155f570f5f60b1f304/gettyimages-469050012.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59637aea03291523/698879155f570f5f60b1f304/gettyimages-469050012.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Author J.K. Rawling Visits The Empire State Building","caption":"Author J.K. Rawling Visits The Empire State Building","creditText":"Cindy Ord—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrity/","name":"celebrity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4180485/alan-rickman-death-jk-rowling-tweet/","name":"See How J.K. Rowling Reacted to Alan Rickman's Death"}}]}] ```