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Is a Biography a Primary Source? Details Every Author Should Know

POSTED ON Oct 1, 2023

Written by Shannon Clark

Is a biography a primary source? Good question.

When writing for an audience, adding relevant quotes, excerpts, and data provides credibility to your work. Primary sources reign supreme because information that comes from the original source leaves little room for error. In our digital age, where so much information is repeated from website to website, it's easy for data to be mistyped, quotes to be misattributed, and information to just be wrong.

It's similar to the group game, Telephone, that kids play. One person starts the game by whispering a phrase into the person's ear next to them. The phrase is repeated until it gets to the last person who says the phrase out loud to see if the message changed. When I played it as a little girl, the phrase hardly ever came out like the original. We run the same risk when we copy statistics or information from random websites that aren't the primary or original source.

In the first half of this article, we'll answer the question, “Is a biography a primary source?” define what the answer means, and then take a closer look at why biographies are categorized as such. In the second part, we’ll look at what to consider before writing one.

Table of Contents

Is a biography a primary source.

The short answer is no. In most cases, a biography is considered a secondary source; however, there’s a little more to it than that.

A primary source is a first-person account (e.g., direct quote, diary entry) or the original source of information (e.g., a research organization that creates original data for an industry.).

A secondary source is a third-party account where the person or company sharing the information, got it from somewhere else. As I mentioned in the Telephone example, the problem with secondary sources is that since they aren't the first hands to touch the information, there's no guarantee that it's correct. Primary sources aren't always available, but if you have a choice between the two, do the extra research to find the primary source. It will pay off in the long run.

A biography is a third-person account of another person’s life written by a biographer whose name appears on the cover. The subject of the biography can be living or deceased and the work can be authorized or unauthorized. For these reasons, biographies are classified as secondary sources. 

Related: Biography vs Memoir

The rare occasion when a biography can be used as a primary source is when the biographer is the subject of the content being written.

For example, if one were to write an article that analyzed the works of the American biographer Jean Strouse, her best biographies , Alice James: A Biography or Morgan: American Financier would be considered primary sources.

The source status of her biographies changes from secondary to primary because it is her writing that's being analyzed not the personal knowledge of what she wrote (unless that was part of the review).

What’s the Difference Between an Authorized and an Unauthorized Biography? 

With an authorized biography, the subject of the work is either involved in the writing process or they’ve given permission for the biographer to write the book. The biographer works with the person to ensure that the information included is correct and approved. This can include talking to close family members and friends to get a more well-rounded, objective view of the person's life.

Unauthorized biographies are not approved by the subject. Anyone can write an unauthorized biography about anyone they’d like. You don’t need permission, and the final book doesn’t have to be approved to be published; however, unauthorized biographies can be seen as less reliable than approved ones. Content presented as fact may come into question exposing the work to libel, invasion of privacy claims, and other legal issues. To be clear, biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs can all be vulnerable to legal claims, so tread lightly when writing them. 

According to the Writer’s GPS: A guide for navigating the legal landscape of publishing by intellectual property attorney Matt Knight, securing life story rights is key to protecting yourself and your book from legal claims. Regarding life story rights, he says the following:

Life story rights are a collection of legal rights held by an individual regarding a story about someone's life. The purpose for securing these rights or the permission to use the facts of someone's life is to protect the writer and publisher from being sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, or the misappropriation of the right to publicity. Life story rights agreements, depending on the breadth of the contract language, allows the writer to use and potentially change or dramatize the life story for entertainment purposes (whether in print or on screen). Knight, M. (2020). The Writer’s Legal GPS: A Guide for Navigating the Legal Landscape of Publishing (A Sidebar Saturdays Desktop Reference) . Sidebar Saturdays Desk Referen.

If you're considering writing a biography (authorized or unauthorized), it's important to understand potential liability issues and how they can impact you as the writer.

It's interesting that for every authorized biography, it is not uncommon to find many unauthorized ones. For actress Elizabeth Taylor, the book on the left (below) was released in December 2022 and listed as “ the first ever authorized biography of the most famous movie star of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Taylor “; however, I found many biographies listed for her over the years (I stopped counting at 20).

Is it Possible to Write a Biography about Yourself? 

No. If you write a biography about yourself it is called an autobiography (different from a memoir). If you get a ghostwriter to write it, it is still an autobiography. Autobiographies are primary sources because they are first-hand accounts based on the subjects' memories and recall of past experiences. 

Unlike a biography, the subject of the autobiography is viewed as the author , whether they wrote it or used a ghostwriter . Autobiographies are considered subjective compared to biographies since they are a single person's account of events (not friends, family, or other third-party references like with a biography.)

How do You Write a Biography About Someone Who Has Passed?

As previously mentioned, if you can get permission to write the biography, do so. If the person is deceased, look for a representative, like a family member, or an executor of their estate. It’s important to share with them your plan for writing the person’s life story and hopefully get the green light to move forward. Getting approval can open the door to accessing archives and other personal details about the person to create a more in-depth work. This can include personal photos, diaries, and other information. Compare this to an unauthorized biography where you may only have access to what has already been talked about or uncovered. 

If the person passed a long time ago, getting permission might be a challenge, but you can still write the biography. Just do your research, save your notes, and try to write a biography that is thorough, objective, and professional. Prioritize primary sources over secondary and cite all of your sources to add credibility. It may be tempting to try to rush through the process, especially when you've been staring at the same information day after day, but doing a thorough job can pay big dividends.

In the writing of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Trajedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer , it took author, Martin J. Sherwin, 25 years to complete the work. The first 20 years were spent doing interviews and collecting over fifty boxes of archives (some received through the Freedom of Information Act). The last five years he partnered with author Kai Bird to complete the work . While it doesn't take every biographer that long to write a biography, it does add a weighty perspective to what writing an in-depth book about someone's life could entail.

Whether you write an authorized or unauthorized biography, the quality and objectivity of your writing are what matter most. Although biographies are considered secondary sources, it doesn’t mean that they can’t make a significant contribution to the tapestry of a person’s public life record. 

Seek out the permission of the person you want to write about if they are living or their family or representative if they are incapacitated or deceased. People’s life stories are personal, so the best advice from one writer to another is to write their stories with the same respect you’d want someone to write yours. This will add a strong entry to your book portfolio, save you a lot of headaches in the long run, and help keep you out of a courtroom.

Note: In this article, we touched on nonfiction life stories, but there are also biographical novels (fictitious) and autobiographical fiction that are not within the scope of this article. For more information on creative nonfiction, start here . 

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Posted on Jun 30, 2023

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

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While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

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Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character arc to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

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When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

• Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
• Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
• Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

• Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
• Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
• Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
• Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in medias res , Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to self-publish your biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and self-edit your manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing software , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

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How to Write Engaging Personal & Professional Bios (with Examples)

Last Updated: August 24, 2023 Fact Checked

Writing Personal and Professional Bios

Writing student bios, making your bio stand out, sample bios.

This article was co-authored by Melody Godfred, JD and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau . Melody Godfred is a Career Coach, Entrepreneur, and Founder of Write In Color, a full-service resume and career development company that specializes in developing compelling personal narratives and brands. With over ten years of experience, Melody has worked with clients at entertainment and media companies including Apple, Disney, Fox, Netflix, Riot Games, Viacom, and Warner Bros, among others. The Muse invited Melody and Write In Color to serve as one of its 30 trusted career counselors (out of 3,000) to provide one-on-one coaching and resume services to the platform's more than four million active users. Melody earned a JD from Loyola Marymount University and BS from the University of Southern California. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 5,722,436 times.

Personal bios are a great way to show people who you are and what you do. Whether writing a bio about yourself for a personal or professional website, a college application, or a social media account, bios are an important part of connecting with your audience or customer base. It’s important to take your time and be thoughtful as you write to ensure you get the right message across! Read on for a complete guide to writing a personal (or professional) bio about yourself, along with writing tips to make it as engaging as possible.

Things You Should Know

• Start with your first and last name in a quick introductory sentence. Then, explain your job, greatest achievements, and professional mission statement.
• Expand on personal details, including where you’re from, your educational background, and a quick summary of passions that aren’t related to your job.
• Mention any projects you’re working on and end the bio with your contact information. Write in the third-person perspective unless it’s for social media.

• The difference between personal and professional bios is all in the tone you use. Both cover your job and skills, but the bio you write for a personal website might sound less formal than the one you write for a job application.
• As you write your bio, adjust your tone to make your bio appropriately formal, funny, professional, or personal.
• If you can’t figure out what to write, check out bios from other people in your field and get a sense of their writing strategy. You can use their bios as models and write yours based on their overall structure.

• For example, begin a third-person bio with a sentence like, "Joann Smith is a graphic designer in Boston," and a first-person bio with "I am a graphic designer in Boston."

• For example, a simple yet solid introduction sentence could be, “Dan Keller is a columnist for the Boulder Times.”
• Avoid writing a nickname in your bio. Even if your bio isn’t strictly for professional use, it’s best to treat it like a formal introduction to other people.
• Be sure to mention your company or brand within your introduction. You might work for a company or own your own business with a personal brand.

• For example, “Dan Keller is a columnist for the Boulder Times. He specializes in writing public interest stories on the latest technology.
• Both personal and professional bios typically include job information; personal bios simply present that information a little more informally.
• If you’re writing about your job informally, you might write something like, “Joann Smith is a passionate knitter who also happens to own and run her paper supply company.”

• “Dan Keller is a columnist for the Boulder Times. His 2011 series "All that and More" earned him Boulder’s prestigious “Up-and-Comer” award for innovation.”
• Don’t make up accomplishments if you don’t have anything notable to add and only include achievements that relate to the career information or skills discussed in the bio.
• Avoid buzzwords like "innovative," "experienced," "creative," and so on, which are often so overused that they don’t mean anything to people. Show readers what you can do through specific details, not catchy phrases.

• For example, “Dan is committed to helping people understand and embrace the true power of technology.”

• For example: “When he isn’t glued to a computer screen, Dan spends time working in the garden, learning French, and trying very hard not to be the worst pool player in the Rockies.”
• The details you share can vary by bio. For a strictly personal bio, include details like hobbies, personal beliefs, and mottos.
• For a bio that falls between "professional" and "personal," try sharing details that give a sense of who you are but won’t alienate others.
• Avoid self-deprecating comments and details that are too intimate or potentially embarrassing for you or your audience.

• For example: “Dan is currently working on a memoir.”
• Keep this part of your bio short and sweet! A sentence is two is all you need.

• If you publish this bio online, format your email address carefully to avoid spam. Many people write email addresses online like: “Greg (at) fizzlemail (dot) com.”
• This clearly tells readers how to spell out your email without making it easy for spammers and bots to copy and use your information.

• Ask your friends and family (especially anyone who is a strong writer) to proofread your bio and give you feedback. A fresh pair of eyes can catch mistakes that you may miss!
• Online editing software like Grammarly can grade your piece in terms of readability and suggest minor improvements.
• Every once in a while, go back and update your bio. By putting in a little work frequently to keep it up to date, you'll save yourself a lot of work when you need to use it again.

• Chronological. Start at the story's beginning and end at the end. It’s simple and works well if you’ve had an interesting life that has taken you from points A to B to C in unusual or impressive ways.
• Circular. Start at an important moment (D), then backtrack to the beginning (A), and explain all the events leading up to that moment (B, C), eventually bringing the reader full circle. This is good for building suspense!
• Zoomed In. Focus on one critical event (C) to symbolically tell a larger story. Use a few small surrounding details (A, B, D) to orient the reader, but give that one moment enough emphasis to stand on its own.

• Avoid statements like, "UCSF has one of the top-ranked research-based med schools in the world, which would provide me with the foundation necessary to achieve my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor."
• Instead, write something like, “Watching a trauma surgeon save my brother’s life is a moment I’ll never forget. Since then, I’ve known undoubtedly that I would dedicate my life to medicine. My brother was lucky that his surgeon studied at one of the best programs in the country. By doing the same, I hope to one day mean to another family what Dr. Heller does to mine."

• Avoid statements like, "Having had a rather minimalistic upbringing, I find that I continue to assiduously value hard work and frugality above all else."
• Instead, try something like, "Growing up very poor taught me that hard work and thrift are sometimes the only things a person can afford."
• Well-written ideas make you seem far more intelligent than big words do. Focus on expressing yourself clearly, and don’t worry about the syllable count!

• Avoid statements like, "I learned a lot from my experience as a camp counselor."
• Instead, try something like, "I came out of my time as a camp counselor with a better understanding of empathy than before. Now, when my younger sister acts up, I know how to help her without sounding bossy or controlling."

• Different types of bio have different word count expectations. For instance, the average brief personal bio is around 250 words. For a resume or job search, it’s okay to have a personal bio of around 300 to 500 words.
• For longer personal bios (ones you might post on an “about me” page for a professional website, for example), aim for around 1,000 to 2,000 words. Include all the details you can, but keep them concise.
• Some social media sites, such as Twitter, restrict your bio to a certain number of words or characters. Ensure that you make the most of that space.

• For example, Tom Hank’s personal bio on Twitter reads, “I'm that actor in some of the movies you liked and some you didn't. Sometimes I'm in pretty good shape, other times I'm not. Hey, you gotta live, you know?”

• Passive: "The window was broken by the zombie."
• Active: "The zombie broke the window."
• The difference between these sentences is stark: in the first, you have no idea whether the window just happened to be broken. The second is obvious: the zombie broke the window, and you need to hit the road.

• Avoid statements like, "Reading The Great Gatsby was a pivotal moment in my life that made me totally rethink my preconceptions about what it means to live in modern America. Thanks to that assignment, I want to pursue American Studies."
• Instead, try something like, "My family’s ties to this country aren’t glamorous. We didn’t arrive on the Mayflower or have our surname butchered at Ellis Island. We settled in four states across the Midwest, where we’ve lived happily for over 100 years. The magic of that simple act isn’t lost on me, which is why I’ve chosen to major in American Studies."

• For example, if you’re writing an Instagram bio, include a link to your personal website too—especially if there’s a longer and more detailed bio for readers to check out there.
• Include a brief call-to-action, too! For example, if you have contact info, you might write “Contact me using the following” before you add the links.

• On your website, longer bios (between 1,500 and 2,000 words) will have the best online optimization. If your bio needs to be shorter, be sure to at least use third-person POV, since your name is another keyword.
• For example, your website’s “About” page could easily support a 1,500+ word bio. However, from there, you’d need to edit that bio down to a few sentences (a short paragraph) for your LinkedIn profile.

Community Q&A

• Throughout the process, think back to the purpose and audience you identified in Step 1. This will help guide your writing. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you're writing online, include hyperlinks to things you mention, such as projects you worked on or a personal blog you keep. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/8-steps-writing-bio-pro-chris-brogan-fact/
• ↑ http://michaelbmaine.com/home/2012/12/13/how-to-write-a-personal-bio
• ↑ https://www.pullmanfoundation.org/professional-bio-writing-101/
• ↑ https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2011/01/28/how-to-write-a-personal-bio
• ↑ https://thewritepractice.com/how-to-write-a-bio/
• ↑ https://weareindy.com/blog/freelance-bio-examples-how-to-write-an-eye-catching-bio
• ↑ https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo

About This Article

When you write a personal bio, write in the third person so it sounds more objective and professional. Start with a sentence that includes your name and what you do for a living. Then, mention your most important accomplishments that are relevant to your field of work. Briefly mention a couple of your hobbies or interests to make your bio more relatable. End with a sentence on any big projects you’re currently working on. Try to keep your bio around 250-500 words. For help writing a personal bio for college applications or social media, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Write A Bio

Last updated on: Jun 9, 2023

How to Write A Bio – Professional Tips and Examples

By: Cordon J.

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: Jul 6, 2021

In order to be an effective and successful person, you must first define yourself.

That's why it is important for people who are looking up at what direction their careers should be? They should write a bio first!

A short but sweet blurb on everything that makes up your identity. This includes things like your name and what you do when you're not working. Take some time every once in a while to write about these things.

Learning how to write a bio is not easy because it involves defining yourself in a few words.

But don’t panic. You can do it!

Read this blog for some professional tips and step by step guide on how to write a bio if you have to write one!

On this Page

What is a Bio?

A bio involves a comprehensive description of an individual’s life. It includes basic facts such as work, education, death, and relationships, along with life events. Moreover, it also incorporates personal details and an analysis of the subject’s personality.

Such biographies are usually non-fictional. They are generally written with the participation, cooperation, and permission of the subject itself. Similarly, it can also be drafted by the person himself with the help of a collaborator.

Apart from personal, writing a professional bio is also an important element in the business world. It is a summary of who you are as an employer. Moreover, it can be used as your description on a personal website and as an employee in the company’s Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Both types of personal and professional bios are the art of presenting yourself in the most interesting way. It is vital to have many versions of your bio for two main reasons.

• From an SEO aspect, impressive content helps your profile to rank better in search results.
• From a personal brand perspective, it is essential to have a variety of versions of your bio for different platforms.

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Types of Bio

Bio is not limited to professional and personal rather; there are several other types of bio:

A short bio is a paragraph about you that can be found on social media, personal websites, and company team directories. It should tell what you have done professionally as well as where you have worked in the past.

It should give an idea of what your professional goals are as well as what other information is available through phone calls or face-to-face meetings.

• Personal Bio

A personal bio is a story about you. It can be about what type of person you are and what you have done. A different group of people might need this bio.

For example, a caregiver needs to know more than someone else does, such as how much time they take care of others and how much empathy they have for their patients.

• Social Media Bio

A social media bio is a place on the internet where people can share information about themselves. It is like their website. They can talk about what they do and why they are different from other people in the same business.

This is also where you put your email address if you want to be contacted by companies or brands online.

• Professional Bio

A professional bio is like the first introduction you make to your career. It's an effective short summary of who you are and what makes you different from other people in your field. A resume only lists qualifications, but this document also includes personal information that tells more about who you are.

Now let's discover how to write a bio to impress others.

How to Write a Bio

Writing a bio includes certain steps that are mentioned below. There are many reasons for writing a bio that includes your accomplishments, traits, and qualifications. You can use it on your company website, portfolio while finding a job.

They are written in different ways.

Follow the essential steps given below to craft a memorable bio.

1. Introduce Yourself

It is one of the most important elements in both types of bios. Always begin with your name. It is because the audience wants to know who you are before learning what you do.

Remember that this type of personal data should go in the first sentence. You can also share other details such as a core value, outlook on life, or any passion if you have space.

This section is crucial to showcase yourself to the people to get an idea of your personality.

2. Think about your Word Count

You should think about your word count before starting writing a bio. The ideal word limit depends on your primary focus and goals.

Plan to write at least 500 words. From an SEO perspective, it is better to use more details in your bio. Therefore, if you have 1500 to 2000 words, that’s even better.

Also, organize your bio into different sections. Take enough time to craft a writing piece that presents your intended audience with an actual take on who you are.

3. Decide on Crafting a Bio in First or Third Person

It is necessary to decide the context in which you want to write your bio. For example, if you would refer to yourself as ‘I’ (first person) or to by your name (third person).

Personal bios are written mostly in the first person, and professional bios are written in the third person.

If you are planning to write a bio for work, it is better to ask the manager.

4. Mention your Current Position

Always mention the current position in your bio if you are employed. For example, refer to your work position as an “Editor”, “Senior Associate,” or “Content Marketing Executive. ”

Nevertheless, if you are not employed and intend to create a bio for your personal profile, mention:

• Previous Position
• Current Expertise

For example, you can state a job title as a “Professional Nanny” or “Web Developer”.

5. State the Company

Stating the current employer can help people to know about your industry and years of experience. People reading your bio will also know whether you are currently available for the work or not.

Skip this step if you are self-employed, or you don’t have a potential employer currently.

6. Write at Least One Professional Accomplishment

In the next step, mention at least one of your professional or important accomplishments. You may also include something that helps the potential clients to understand what motivates you.

Similarly, include the links and samples of any of your products, company, or service. Highlight the impressive ones only that are relevant to your story.

7. Include Some Personal Details

In some cases, it is not necessary to include personal data in your bio. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to add these details because in some situations, so it will help people understand you better.

These may include:

• Favorite movies, TV shows, or books
• Data about family life
• Personal history
• Details about interests

8. Include the Contact Information

Despite having a contact page on your professional website, it is better to include your contact details at the end of your or LinkedIn or Twitter bio. These include:

• A link to your contact page
• Your email address
• A link to your LinkedIn account

Such type of personal information will let the audience know how to get in touch with you. Leaving contact information is the same as a call to action. Similarly, it will also direct them to a platform where they can learn more about you.

9. Edit and Update

Read the bio aloud after you finish writing it. It will help you identify any mistakes or wrong sentence structures.

Different free editing tools can also assist you in drafting a perfect bio about yourself. You can also update it with essential information like a degree or a promotion. Include any other changes if required.

10. Get Professional Help

Sometimes you need someone to help you with your personal or professional bio. There are several writing professionals and essay experts online to provide you with such services.

They know the main aspects of writing a bio and help you achieve your goals. Similarly, they also provide other expert assistance in proofreading your bio.

How to Write a Bio - Examples

BIO TEMPLATE

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY TEMPLATE

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY TEMPLATE

SHORT BIO EXAMPLE

Quick Tips for Writing A Bio

Even with all the information mentioned-above on, it might still be difficult for some people to write about themselves. However, there are few ways that can help you in writing your bio on point.

• Do not Overthink It: Most of the bios are usually formulaic. It does not require you to add much to stand out. Instead, even including a little information about your personality or an unusual accomplishment can make it sound unique. Therefore, just try to add accurate and to-the-point details.
• Remember Your Worth: Writing a bio on your social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn account can be challenging. It is because they already have a lot of interesting bios of different people. Don’t make the mistake of comparing yourself with others. Remember, your story is only yours, and it has value. Your primary job is to focus on staying authentic to your truth and don’t worry about others.
• Borrow When in Doubt: Bios can be repetitive sometimes. If you find a bio whose structure may sound unique to you, you can borrow it. However, you should never copy it as it is.
• Get Writing Help: You are not alone in the quest to create an impressive bio. There are many online tools such as Grammarly that can help you choose powerful adjectives for standing out.

The perfect bio can be a challenging task for many people. This blog has provided an easy guide to drafting your own personal bio, with all of the necessary information and tools that you will need in order to write one yourself!

Get your online bio now by contacting 5StarEssays.com .

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you write a first-person bio.

In a first-person bio, you must use words like I and me . In the third person, it is better to use your name.

Is a bio in the 3rd person?

Yes, the bio is usually written in the third person if you want it to be more formal. But if you want it to be more personal or informal, write your bio in the first person.

How do I write a bio for myself?

Follow the steps below to write the bio for ownself:

• But, first, introduce yourself, tell your achievements.
• Write in the third person.
• Include your contact information.
• Try to be concise and accurate.
• Proofread your bio.

Cordon. is a published author and writing specialist. He has worked in the publishing industry for many years, providing writing services and digital content. His own writing career began with a focus on literature and linguistics, which he continues to pursue. Cordon is an engaging and professional individual, always looking to help others achieve their goals.

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Summary. To write a short bio you should first make an initial introduction introducing yourself in the first or first person. Your short bio should include your brand, your accomplishments, and your values and goals. Your short bio should be one to three short paragraphs or four to eight sentences long.

Knowing how to write a concise, informative, and interesting biography about yourself can help throughout various parts of the professional process. You can use your bio to capture the attention of potential employers or clients and convince them to choose to employ or work with you.

In this article, you’ll learn more about what goes into a short bio and how to write one, and you’ll also get to see some short bio templates and examples to help you get an idea of what yours should look like.

Key Takeaways

A short bio serves to introduce you, your achievements, and what you offer professionally to potential employers or clients.

It’s important to keep your bio brief so that readers stay engaged and will remember your main points.

You may need to adjust your bio for different audiences, as your clients may want to know different information than a recruiter would.

Talk about your skills and accomplishments in your bio, but don’t exaggerate them.

What Is a Short Bio?

How to write a short bio, what to include in a short professional bio, short bio examples, short bio templates, tips for writing a short bio, writing a short bio faq.

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A short bio serves as your introduction to the professional world. In terms of finding or expanding on your job, a bio will cover your:

Work history

Achievements

Any other relevant professional information

Think of it as a professional memoir that a hiring manager or consumer can read and understand quickly. It’s usually about one to three paragraphs depending on experience.

There’s an emphasis on being succinct when it comes to writing a professional bio. This is because a bio is supposed to be a preface to attract recruiter attention and incline them to reach out for more information. Many readers will get lost or bored with a lengthy bio.

Using a short bio can be helpful across very different industries, from marketing to accounting, from psychiatry to sales.

You’re probably familiar with providing short bios on social media websites and applications. While the information and skills you include in a professional bio may differ, the general formatting is similar.

There’s a lot of considerations to take into account when writing a short bio, and it can quickly become intimidating. Deciding what information is relevant and how to keep it near 140 characters is no small task.

If you’re having difficulty writing a short bio, follow the outline below to craft an introduction that engages your reader.

Make an initial introduction. You can’t jump right into everything you’ve done and what you want to do in the future before introducing yourself.

Your bio’s first sentence should begin with your full name in the third person or introduce yourself in the first person and continue to briefly outline your most notable skills and accomplishments. It’s a good place to state your current job and employer.

Go deeper with what motivates you. Once you’ve catchily illustrated who you are in your short bio, you can use the second sentence to describe your motivations for your work.

Stating what drives you to do the work you do is essential to employers and customers alike. Whether you work as a physician or fitness consultant , there’s a reason why this is your profession, and you should explain that in your short professional bio.

Describe your accomplishments. Your short bio is for detailing why you’re the ideal candidate to be trusted with handling an employer or consumer’s business. By describing your prior accomplishments, you let them know what you could offer as an employee and how you’ve succeeded in the past.

While you should avoid sounding braggy, the reader is looking for information about what your qualifications are , and your accomplishments generally measure these qualities.

Even though you could probably go on for ages about the details of your accomplishments, save that for an interview . In a short bio, only include the most impressive of your achievements to outline.

Accomplishments relevant to a short bio could include:

Impressive results on a project

Former promotions

Awards received in your field

Certifications received

Include contact information. The purpose of a short bio as either a business or a job seeker is to inspire the reader to reach out. Without contact information, this pursuit becomes futile. Make sure your short bio has some way to contact you at the end.

Relevant contact information may include:

Phone number

Professional networking profile

A short professional bio includes:

Your full name. You can choose to write your bio in the first person (I, me, my) or third person (he, she, they), but either way, you need to include your full name at some point. Branding doesn’t work so well without a brand name (i.e., you!)

Your brand. Of course, if you have an actual brand that you’re trying to market, you should include the brand name as well.

What you do. Summarize what you want the reader to know about what you do in one sentence — tricky, we know.

Your accomplishments. For a short bio, you can stick with just one major accomplishment from your professional life. Or, if you have a string of impressive achievements, try condensing all of them down to one sentence.

Your goals and values. Let the reader know what makes you tick — why do you do what you do and what do you hope to achieve with your work? People are compelled by a story more than anything else, so it’s important to get this part right.

Something personal (optional). If you have a quirky tidbit about yourself you’d like to include, go for it. Just make sure it doesn’t throw off te the tone of the rest of your bio.

Contact info (optional). If your bio is serving as a call-to-action to drum up business or get leads on job opportunities, it makes sense to include your contact information at the end of your bio. It’s not necessary if that information is available elsewhere on the page , though.

Entry-Level Job-Seeker Bio Example

Mitchell Morrison is an upcoming video producer and editor who believes in the art of visual organization. He is a recent graduate from the University of Washington and focused on post-production during his time studying there. He was introduced to the magical world of visual art production by watching his father work on editing commercials growing up and has been working towards his dream of becoming a video editor ever since. During his last year of college, Mitchell participated in a competitive internship with Digital Space Films. He was chosen out of 2,000 applicants based on his academic portfolio and personal statement essay. This internship was an incredible learning experience and resulted in three professional accreditations for music video editing. Mitchell currently lives in Seattle, Washington pursuing freelance opportunities and spending time with his Dog, Pikachu. To get into contact with Mitchell: MitchellMorrisonVideo.com/contact

Working Professional Website Bio Example

Lisa Kennedy is an experienced real estate professional. She knows how important a home is for long-term happiness and has invested her career in putting people in the house they’ve always dreamed of. Lisa was driven to pursue real estate from her passion for helping people during life-altering times, and a keen interest in high-end, luxury homes. She’s been working in the real estate industry for ten years and in that time has assisted over 3,500 people in finding homes. She was educated at the University of Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in business management. She’s worked for some of the most respectable Real Estate companies in Los Angeles and individually under her agency “Kennedy Homes.” Lisa has also been published in Real Estate Quarterly Magazine as the 2017 winner of the “Top Luxury Home Seller” award. Lisa loves the culture of Los Angeles and has been living there with her family of five since she graduated from college. She enjoys spending her free time exploring towns along the West Coast and swimming. If you’d like to get in touch with Lisa: Email: [email protected]

Professional Networking Profile Bio Example

Bianca Jones Marketing Manager Miami, FL The first step towards customer satisfaction is being reached by stellar product marketing, and that’s what I aim to provide. My professional experience as a product marketing manager has allowed me to assist many organizations in improving their sales margins and audience response to emerging products. I’ve brought dedication and positive results to the companies I’ve worked for because I am passionate about product perception, marketing, and business statistics. What drives a product to success interests and inspires me. I specialize in long-term growth strategies and audience outreach. In addition to eight years of experience in professional product marketing, I have also published two books on creating a career as a marketer called “What to Do After Your Bachelor’s” and “A Marketer’s How-To.” If you’re interested in learning more about how to market your business better, or just discuss more, feel free to contact me by email at [email protected].

Your first choice is whether you want your bio to be written in the third person or first person. These short bio templates show both options, and also include different ideas for what to include, and how. Feel free to pick and choose your favorite parts of each of the two.

[Full Name] is a [job title] who [believes/knows] in the power of [what you do]. [He/She/They] began their journey in [field] by [how you got started in the field], and now dreams of [what you hope to accomplish]. [His/Her/Their] biggest accomplishment to date has been [your biggest accomplishment]. [Full Name] lives in [where you live] and participates in [a hobby/interest]. To get in touch with [Full Name], call/email/message me on [how you’d like to be contacted].

I am a [job title] who helps [who you help] [what you help them do]. It’s my belief that [your unique perspective on the field]. In the past [# of years] years, I’ve [major accomplishment #1] through [how you accomplished it]. I have a passion for [your professional passion], but on the side, I also enjoy [personal passion]. Get in touch with me today at [contact info] — I look forward to talking with you about [what you want to talk to your readers about].

You have a firm grasp of the structure of a short bio and what to include. Now, you may need some tips for how to polish your short professional bio and make it stand out from the competition.

Be mindful of length. While you’re probably getting sick of hearing that your bio should be short, it’s good to keep in mind throughout the writing process. It’s easy to go off on a tangent while trying to include everything relevant or rationalize, making your bio too long.

Avoid this impulse. The point of a bio is that it’s limited. You want to intrigue the reader enough to inspire them to seek more information about you or your services.

Tailor your bio to your intended audience. Whether you’re using a short bio to attract a particular customer base or potential employer, tailoring it to fit their wants and needs is crucial. Consider your intended audience base and what they’re looking for in a candidate or service.

Be genuine. Your short bio should be an authentic representation of your traits, experience, and personality. People are repelled by what they interpret as stretching the truth. If you’re being received as disingenuous by the reader, they’ll probably move on.

Proofread. The only way to steer clear of errors in your short bio is by proofreading it. Imagine a hiring manager being completely interested in your bio.

They love what you have to say about yourself and find your prior experience enticing. That is, until they come across a mistake that clearly shows you didn’t do proofread or edit.

Include links to your portfolio, website, or networking profile. One way to circumvent the confining factor of keeping your bio short is by including links to more detailed sources.

This can be in the form of linking your portfolio or website to allow the reader to go deeper into your discussed skills if they please, without taking up more space in your bio.

Implement these links seamlessly into your bio by attaching them to anchor words that describe what clicking will lead them to.

Add some personality. You aren’t the only person who has an impressive list of accomplishments to put on a bio, so you’re going to need to find some additional ways to make an impression.

What should a short bio include?

A short bio should include your name, what you do, and your achievements. You should also include your company or product’s brand, if you have one, and your goals and motivations for doing what you do. This humanizes you and helps you stand out from the rest of the pack.

How long is a short bio?

A short bio is typically one to three paragraphs long. These should be short paragraphs though, as other experts say that between four and eight sentences is the ideal length for a short bio.

What makes a good bio?

A good bio is succinct and memorable. Readers don’t want to spend long reading about your professional and personal life, so go back and cut it down to the important parts multiple times after you draft it. You might be surprised at how little you actually need to include.

What should you avoid putting in a short bio?

You should avoid including anything negative or arrogate. It’s never a good idea to write anything negative about previous jobs or employers. Only include positive things in your professional short bio.

It’s important to include your achievements in a short bio, but there is a fine line between mentioning your achievements and bragging about them. Stick to the facts when talking about your accomplishments.

Fremont University – Building Your Professional Bio

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Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.

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27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I've Ever Seen [+ Templates]

Published: December 20, 2023

As a writer, I have to let readers and potential clients know my expertise, my skills, and why they should work with me or be interested in what I say. So, a professional bio is a must in my industry.

Though I'm definitely familiar with professional bios, I can admit they can be challenging. What do I include? What do readers need to know?

As daunting as writing a professional bio can be, professional bios are crucial when applying for jobs, seeking new clients, or networking. A professional bio also gives the world a brief snapshot of you and your professional ideals.

If you‘re at a loss for how to write a professional bio that packs a punch, I’ve got you covered. In this journey, tools like HubSpot’s user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder can be instrumental in showcasing your professional bio online with ease and style.

I will walk you through how to write a professional bio that you can proudly publish, provide professional bio templates, and show you the best professional bio examples you can get inspiration from.

What is a professional bio?

Professional bio templates, how to write a professional bio, best professional bio examples, how to write a short bio.

80+ Professional Bio Templates & Examples

Create a compelling professional narrative for a proper, attention-grabbing introduction.

• LinkedIn Summaries
• Speaker Intros
• Website Bios
• Professional Profile

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Tell us a little about yourself below to gain access today:

A professional bio or biography is a short overview of your experience. Professional bios usually include details about education, employment, achievements, and relevant skills.

Purpose of Professional Bios

A bio tells an audience about who you are, what you've done, and what you can do. It can help potential employers, fans, or customers understand your personality and what you stand for.

Writing a bio without a clear starting point is challenging — believe me, I've tried. To ease the process, here are some templates I put together to get you started.

I‘ve found it’s best to keep your professional bio honest and to the point. Too long of a bio, and you risk losing your audience's attention. After all, audiences will only read a web page for less than a minute before clicking elsewhere.

And honesty is key because most consumers and clients won‘t invest in someone or something if it doesn’t seem trustworthy. In fact, 67% of consumers say they must trust a brand before investing in its products or services.

"Plus," she adds, "I'm always happy to talk about my cats at any given moment. You never know when a fellow cat mom could be reading."

Values and Work Approach

Your values can sometimes show your work ethic more effectively than your career path. It can also help you endear yourself to employers and colleagues who want to work with people with similar values.

So don‘t be shy: Share how you incorporate your values into your work. Whether it’s a commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, or ethical decision-making, explain what drives you and be enthusiastic about it.

Your Personality

Remember: Your bio should always include a taste of your personality! Your sense of humor, creativity, or collaborative nature could all give readers a sense of who you are. This helps readers connect with you on a more personal level.

Remember to tailor your bio for different platforms and audiences. Also, keep it concise and impactful while highlighting the most relevant information in each context.

First-Person Bio vs. Third-Person Bio

While first-person bios are common, third-person bios can be more effective in formal situations.

Your decision to write your professional bio in the first or third person depends on your desire to leave a more personable or assertive impression.

Both approaches work, provided you tailor them to your goals and audience. What’s important is to be clear and tell your story in a way that connects with your reader.

How to Write a First-Person Bio

Writing in the first person can be a great way to connect with your audience when building a personal brand. When you write a first-person bio, use "I" or "me" to make yourself relatable and approachable.

Here's one way I’d write a first-person bio:

"I'm a freelance writer specializing in small business content. I've worked with companies in a variety of industries like home care to fine leather goods."

Speaking in the first person here connects you with a client or brand based on your experience and opinions. Put another way, writing a first-person bio is like telling your story to your audience.

Here are a few tips to make your first-person bio great:

Don’t start every sentence with "I."

Showing instead of telling is a great approach.

Let’s say you’re a writer who wants to create a short professional bio. Instead of saying, "I love to write," you can say, "Writer. Bad but enthusiastic dancer."

This portrays your writing skill, shows your personality outside of writing as a dancer, and includes a little sense of humor, which is essential for a writer.

Remember, you know yourself better than anyone.

Adding a back story to your bio helps create context for the roles and successes you write about. Think of it like a case study about who you were, what you are now, and the process that got you to your current position.

Focus on valuable details.

Quick facts about you can showcase your identity and values. For example, if you're writing a bio for LinkedIn, think about how to tie your hobby into what you do.

Let's say Animal Crossing is your hobby. Does it align with your career aspirations? It can be a great addition to your bio if you want to pursue a video game career.

However, if your interests lie elsewhere, including a more relevant hobby is better.

How to Write a Third-Person Bio

Third-person bios sound more authoritative and objective. So, if you’re job searching in a formal industry, applying for grants, or trying to get published, you may want to stick to the third person.

For instance, when you write a third-person bio, you may start with:

"Jasmine Montgomery is a Senior Hiring Manager at L’Oreal based in New York. She recruits across several business units to connect with the brightest talent from around the globe."

By only using your name and pronouns to speak about yourself here, you are letting your title and skill set speak for themselves.

These bios create distance between the subject of the bio (you) and the reader through a third person. This person could be anyone, but they usually speak in a tone emphasizing their expertise.

This makes third-person bios feel aloof or overly formal sometimes.

Ideally, your third-person bio should sound friendly but polished, like a message from a close colleague at work. Here are a few tips on how to write a great third-person bio.

Write from the perspective of someone you know and trust.

It can be challenging to write about yourself, so try to see yourself from the perspective of your favorite person at work or a mentor you trust. This can help you write from a position of authority without feeling self-conscious.

Show the reader why they should trust your opinion.

A professional bio often reflects a specific industry or niche. With this in mind, your text should include relevant details that professionals in your industry know. Avoid jargon whenever you can.

Remember, you're telling a story.

If you want a third-person bio, but you're used to writing in first-person, it may help to write it the most comfortable way for you.

Your professional bio is an essential piece of writing, so edit it carefully. Edit your writing from both points of view and see which works best for your target audience.

Here's how to write a professional bio, step by step.

• Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.
• Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.
• Mention any associated brand name you might use.
• State your current position and what you do.
• Include at least one professional accomplishment.
• Describe your values and how they inform your career.
• Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.
• Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

If you’re anything like me, you probably don't think about your professional bio until you’re asked to "send one over via email."

You have one afternoon to come up with it, so you scramble together a bio that ends up reading like this:

"Rodney Erickson is a content marketing professional at HubSpot, a CRM platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.

Previously, Rodney worked as a marketing manager for a tech software startup. He graduated with honors from Columbia University with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing."

To be fair, in certain contexts, your professional bio needs to be more formal, like Mr. Erickson's up there. But there are also cases where writing a personable and conversational bio is good.

Whether you choose the formal or casual route, use the following steps to create a perfect bio.

1. Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.

You need an online space to keep your professional bio. Here are a few to consider (some of these you might already have in place):

• Facebook Business page .
• Industry blog byline .
• Instagram account .
• Personal website .
• LinkedIn profile .
• Industry website .
• Personal blog .

As you'll see in the professional bio examples below, the length and tone of your bio will differ depending on the platforms you use.

Instagram, for example, allows only 150 characters of bio space, whereas you can write as much as you want on your website or Facebook Business page.

2. Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.

If your readers remember nothing else about your bio, they should remember your name. Therefore, it's a good idea for your first and last name to be the first two words of your professional bio.

Even if your name is printed above this bio (hint: it should), this is a rare moment where it's okay to be redundant.

For example, if I were writing my bio, I might start it like this:

Lindsay Kolowich

Lindsay Kolowich is a Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot.

3. Mention any associated brand name you might use.

Will your professional bio represent you or a business you work for? Ensure you mention the brand you associate with in your bio. If you're a freelancer, you may have a personal business name or pseudonym you advertise to your clients.

Here are a few examples:

• Lindsay Kolowich Marketing.
• SEO Lindsay.
• Kolowich Consulting.
• Content by Kolowich (what do you think ... too cheesy?).

Maybe you founded your own company and want its name to be separate from your real name. Keep it simple like this: "Lindsay Kolowich is the founder and CEO of Kolowich Consulting."

4. State your current position and what you do.

Whether you're the author of a novel or a mid-level specialist, use the following few lines of your bio to describe what you do in that position. Refrain from assuming your audience knows what your job title entails.

Make your primary responsibilities known so readers can know you and understand what you offer to your industry.

5. Include at least one professional accomplishment.

Just as a business touts its client successes through case studies, your professional bio should let your audience know what you've achieved.

What have you done for yourself — as well as for others — that makes you a valuable player in your industry?

6. Describe your values and how they inform your career.

Why do you do what you do? What might make your contribution to the market different from your colleagues? What are the values that make your business a worthwhile investment to others?

Create a professional bio that answers these questions.

7. Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.

Transition from describing your values in work to defining who you are outside of work. This may include:

• Your family.
• Your hometown.
• Sports you play.
• Hobbies and interests.
• Favorite music and travel destinations.
• Side hustles you're working on.

People like connecting with other people. The more transparent you are about who you are personally, the more likable you'll be to people reading about you.

8. Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

End your professional bio on a good or, more specifically, a funny note. By leaving your audience with something quirky or unique, you can ensure they'll leave your website with a pleasant impression of you.

Following the steps above when writing your bio is important, but take your time with one section. People consume lots of information daily. So ensure your bio hooks 'em in the first line, and you won’t lose them.

(P.S. Want to boost your professional brand? Take one of HubSpot Academy's free certification courses . In just one weekend, you can add a line to your resume and bio that over 60,000 marketers covet.)

Why Good Bios Are Important for a Professional

You may think, "How many people read professional bios, anyway?"

The answer: A lot. Though there's no way to tell who is reading it, you want it catchy. Your professional bio will delight the right people coming across it on multiple platforms.

Professional bios can live on your LinkedIn profile , company website, guest posts, speaker profiles, Twitter bio , Instagram bio , and many other places.

And most importantly, it‘s the tool you can leverage most when you’re networking.

Bottom line? People will read your professional bio. Whether they remember it or it makes them care about you is a matter of how well you present yourself to your intended audience.

So, what does a top-notch professional bio look like? Let‘s review a few sample bios for professionals like you and me. Then, we’ll cover bio examples from some of the best people in the industry.

Short Sample Bios

Your bio doesn't have to be complicated. Here are five samples to glean inspiration from.

Example 1: Friendly Sample Bio

"Hey! My name is Ryan, and I'm a marketing specialist passionate about digital advertising. I have five years of experience managing various online campaigns and improving brand visibility for clients across multiple verticals. I love analyzing consumer behavior and leveraging data-driven strategies to maximize ROI. Outside work, I enjoy traveling, taking funny photos, and exploring new hiking trails."

Example 2: Mid-Career Sample Bio

"Jennifer Patel is a versatile graphic designer known for her creative approach and attention to detail. With a background in visual arts and eight years of experience, Jennifer has worked on diverse projects ranging from logo designs to website layouts. Her ability to understand and translate client needs into visually striking designs sets her apart. Jennifer finds inspiration in nature, music, and pop culture."

Example 3: Sales Sample Bio

"I'm a seasoned sales executive with a track record of exceeding targets and building strong client relationships. With a background in B2B sales, I've built a natural ability to understand customer needs and consistently exceed quota every month. I pride myself in my communication skills and strategic approaches, which have helped me thrive in highly competitive markets such as SaaS sales. Outside work, I enjoy playing basketball and volunteering at local charities."

Example 4: HR Sample Bio

"I am a dedicated human resources professional with a passion for fostering a positive workplace culture and facilitating employee development. With eight years of experience in talent acquisition and HR operations, I've played a key role in building high-performing teams. I'm known for my strong interpersonal skills and ability to create inclusive and supportive work environments. In my free time, I enjoy practicing yoga and exploring new culinary experiences."

Example 5: Software Engineer Sample Bio

"David Chang is a senior software engineer specializing in backend development. With a strong background in computer science and six years of experience, David has successfully built scalable and efficient solutions for complex technical challenges. He is well-versed in various programming languages and frameworks like C++, Java, and Ruby on Rails. In his spare time, David enjoys reading science fiction novels and playing the guitar."

Below, we've curated some of the best professional bio examples we've ever seen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various places you might describe yourself.

Check 'em out and use them as inspiration when crafting your own.

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author
• Chima Mmeje: SEO Content Writer
• DJ Nexus: DJ
• Lena Axelsson: Marriage & Family Therapist
• Mark Levy: Branding Firm Founder
• Audra Simpson: Political Anthropologist
• Marie Mikhail: Professional Recruiter
• Wonbo Woo: Executive Producer
• Chris Burkard: Freelance Photographer
• Lisa Quine: Creative Consultant
• Nancy Twine: Hair Care Founder
• Trinity Mouzon: Wellness Brand Founder
• Alberto Perez: Co-Founder of Zumba Fitness
• Ann Handley: Writer and Marketer

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Author

Bio platform: personal website.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie begins her professional bio with an invitation to her roots.

In a few paragraphs, she describes when and where she was born, her family, her education, her honorary degrees, and the depth of her work, which has been translated into 30 languages and several publications.

She can keep readers engaged by leading with a powerful hook that aligns with her target audience’s marketing needs.

• There’s clarity about who Chima serves.
• The hook is bold, catchy, and compels anyone to read further.
• Including client results makes clients visualize what they can expect.

3. DJ Nexus : DJ

Bio platform: facebook.

This New England-based DJ has single-handedly captured the Likes of over 2,000 people in and beyond Boston, MA. And even if you don‘t listen to the type of music he produces, it’s hard not to read his compelling Facebook bio.

For instance, consider his tagline, under "About" — " Quiet during the day. QUITE LOUD at night! " DJ Nexus tells you when he works awesomely. I got goosebumps just imagining a dance club where he might play music.

The second is the "long version," which is even more interesting than the first. Why? It reads like a story — a compelling one, at that. In fact, it gets hilarious in some parts.

The second sentence of the bio reads: "He was frightened of public school, loved playing baseball and football, ran home to watch ape films on the 4:30 Movie, listened to The Jam and The Buzzcocks, and read magic trick books."

Here's another excerpt from the middle:

It's a well-put value proposition that sets her apart from the rest of the HR industry.

Marie concludes her bio with a smooth mix of professional skills, like her Spanish fluency, and personal interests, such as podcasting and Star Wars (she mentions the latter with just the right amount of humor).

• Straight off the bat, Marie uses a story to share her experiences of how she began as a recruiter.
• It provides a subtle pitch for readers to check out her podcast.
• The bio exudes Maries approachable, fun, and playful personality.

8. Wonbo Woo : Executive Producer

Wonbo Woo is the executive producer of WIRED's video content and has several impressive credits to his name. What does this mean for his professional bio? He has to prioritize.

With this in mind, Wonbo opens his bio with the most eye-catching details first (if the image below is hard to read, click it to see the full copy ).

I wouldn‘t necessarily be inclined to follow Chris if his bio had simply read, "I post beautiful images." But images that inspire me to travel? Now that’s something I can get behind.

Last, he ends on a humble, sweet note: "He is happiest with his wife Breanne raising their two sons." So inject personal information into your bio — it makes you seem approachable.

• It highlights Chris’s achievement without bragging.
• The last sentence portrays Chris as a responsible man who loves his family.
• The well-written bio speaks to nature lovers who like the outdoors, surfing, and more. This gives them reasons to follow Chris.

10. Lisa Quine : Creative Consultant

Bio platform: portfolio website.

Creative professionals who specialize in visual art may find it challenging to balance the writing of their bio and displaying of their portfolio. Not Lisa Quine. Lisa has an exceptional balance of her professional bio and creative work.

Throughout her bio, you'll notice the number of murals she's completed and a brief timeline of her career. This helps her paint the picture of who she is as a professional.

The rest of her bio similarly focuses on Twine's strengths as someone who’s able to take hair care "back to basics."

Mouzon effectively grips the reader's attention with this introduction and then dives into some of her impressive accomplishments — including a brand now sold at Urban Outfitters and Target.

The language used throughout Mouzon's bio is authentic, real, and honest.

For instance, in the second paragraph, she admits:

"While building a brand may have looked effortless from the outside, starting a business at age 23 with no resources or funding quickly forced me to realize that early-stage entrepreneurship was anything but transparent."

As an avid Zumba fan, I was excited to include this one. Perez styles his LinkedIn bio as a short story, starting with his background as a hard-working teen who held three jobs by age 14.

His bio tells the fun and fascinating origin story of Zumba, in which Perez, an aerobics teacher in Florida at the time, forgot his music for class and used a Latin music cassette tape instead ... "And it was an instant hit!"

His bio continues:

"Shortly after he was connected to Alberto Periman and Alberto Aghion, and Zumba was officially created ... What started as a dream now has 15 million people in more than 200,000 locations in 186 countries who take Zumba classes every week."

There's something in there for everyone.

• The last section of the bio shows Ann’s warm personality — "Ann lives in Boston, where she is Mom to creatures two- and four-legged."
• Written in the third person, this bio has lots of proof (like followers), which shows Ann is a terrific marketing leader.

If you're posting a bio on a social media account or sending a quick blurb to a client, you want to keep it short and sweet while showcasing your accomplishments.

To get started, use these best practices for writing your short professional bio:

• Introduce yourself.
• State what you do.
• Add key skills or areas of expertise.
• Include a personal mission statement
• Celebrate your wins.
• Provide your contact information.
• Show them your personality.

1. Introduce yourself.

Your introduction is your first impression, so always begin by telling people who you are. You may start with a greeting like, "Hello, my name is" or "Hi! Let me first introduce myself …" when sending your bio as a message.

If you’re writing a bio for an online platform, stating your name at the beginning works as well.

Leading with your name — even as a question — is important for recognition and building relationships.

2. State what you do.

Give people an idea of what you do daily and where you work. Your job title is how the people put you into context and consider whether your profession relates to their industry.

So detail your most relevant work in your short bios, like CEO, professor, and author.

Take a cue from Angela Duckworth , who specifies what she does in her LinkedIn bio:

3. Add key skills or areas of expertise.

If you send a bio to a client or potential employer, highlight your most valuable skills. For instance, if your expertise is in social media marketing and content creation, like Ivanka Dekoning , list these skills.

• A joke. "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. At least that’s what I learned when I created…"
• Mention a hobby. "I’ll be honest: for me, tennis is life — Go Nadal!"
• A fun fact. "Every year, I watch 100 new films! I’m a cinephile and love every movie genre."
• A few emojis related to your interests. "🎶🤖🎾🎬🎭"

Whichever way you choose to get personal, give people a glimpse into who you are as an individual.

When writing a short bio, it can be tempting to pack in as much relevant information about yourself as possible — but this isn’t the most effective approach.

Instead, focus on including the details that you and your audience care about most and leave out the fluff.

Let's dive into a few examples of short professional bios.

Short Professional Bio Examples

• Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager
• Lianna Patch: Copywriter
• Precious Oboidhe: Content Strategist and Writer
• Rebecca Bollwitt: Writer
• Megan Gilmore: Cookbook Author
• Bea Dixon: Feminine Care Founder
• Tammy Hembrow: Instagram Influencer
• Dr. Cody: Chiropractor
• Larry Kim: Founder
• Dharmesh Shah: Founder and CTO
• Lily Ugbaja: Content Strategist
• Ian Anderson Gray: Marketer
• Van Jones: Political Commentator, Author, and Lawyer

1. Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager

Bio platform: blog byline.

Tristen Taylor is a Marketing Manager here at HubSpot. She's written content for HubSpot's Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service blogs; her blog author bio is one of my favorites.

What I love most about Tristen's bio is that it’s a great example of how to deliver information about yourself that is relevant to your work while also sharing fun details that audiences will find relatable.

Her bio reads:

"Building from her experience with GoCo.io and Southwest Airlines, Tristen's work has been recognized by Marketing Brew and BLACK@INBOUND. She lives in Washington, DC, attending anime conventions and painting in her free time."

Gilmore further includes a CTA link within her Instagram bio that leads followers to free, ready-to-use recipes. You might think, " Why would she do that since it discourages people from buying her book?"

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

By giving her followers the chance to try out her recipes, she's slowly turning leads into customers. After I tried a few of her Instagram recipes and loved them, I bought her book, knowing I'd like more of what she offered.

• The bio is short and direct.
• The CTA link includes an invitation for people to join her newsletter. Meaning, she can build her email list.

6. Bea Dixon : Feminine Care Founder

Bea Dixon, Founder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company, efficiently uses the space on her Instagram profile to highlight who she is as a well-rounded human — not just a businesswoman.

For instance, while she highlights her girl boss attitude with a tiara emoji, she equally calls attention to her fashion interests (Free People), her pets, Boss and Sadie, and her love for ramen noodles.

What more do you need to know?

Ian doesn't take his bio too seriously but uses every character to highlight everything about him.

He includes his skills as a marketer and podcast host, who he is outside work as a dad, and what he can help you do. His smiles also give the bio a sense of humor and realness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Create a compelling professional narrative for your summary, bio, or introduction.

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Write Your Biography In First Person

Written by David Meerman Scott on March 26th, 2019

I write about strategies to turn fans into customers and customers into fans. I also share ways to use real-time strategies to spread ideas, influence minds, and build business.

Personal branding  |  writing

Imagine you’re shopping for dentist. Perhaps you’re new to town or need emergency work on the road. You find a half dozen dentists via search and one of them has a narrative using the pronouns “I” and “my”. This particular dentists shares the story of why they went into dentistry and what excites them about their work. Maybe there’s some fun stuff about what she is passionate about, a sport perhaps. Or the kind of live music she enjoys. There might be  photos of the dentist enjoying her hobby included as part of the bio.

Contrast that with a dull repetition of where “Dr. X” earned her professional degrees. There’s a single posed photo with some important looking certificates on the wall behind her.

Which dentist would you be drawn to?

Tell your story!

We want to know your story. And we want to know who you are in your own words. Let us know about some of the things that make you a unique and interesting person.

For example, here is the opening to my LinkedIn profile :

I was fired. Sacked. My ideas were a little too radical for my new bosses. So I started writing books, speaking at events and advising emerging companies. That was in 2002 and since then my books have sold over a million copies in 29 languages.

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How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 1)

When your journal article gets accepted or you are preparing for a public presentation, you will often be asked for a short academic biography. For many people, these academic bios are more difficult to write than a dissertation. How do you sum up yourself and your work in 3-5 sentences? What do you need to include? What should you leave out?

What You Should Do

• Start with your full name followed by your current position, your general interests, and your current project, keeping them all very brief.
• If you are within a year of receiving a prestigious award, mention that as well.
• Finally, finish with a sentence that’s personal: add a hobby, a pet’s name, the city you live in—whatever you are comfortable with that is personal but not too private.

What You Should Avoid

• Avoid speaking in the first person, i.e., don’t use “I.”
• Don’t divulge details beyond your current position.
• In a longer bio of multiple paragraphs, you may add more awards and information about your master’s and bachelor’s degrees, but not in a short bio. Moreover, don’t add anything that happened before grad school—including your place of birth. For example:

Hi! My name is Scott. I was originally born in Vermont and now I’m a professor at North Yankee University in Fargone, New York (in upstate New York). I study antelopes’ migration patterns and their impact of native grain growth. My interest in antelopes began as a teenager when I first saw one in the wild. I did my undergrad degree in biology at SUNY and my masters and UCLA and my PhD in Forestry at Hunter College.

Related: Finished drafting your academic biography and heading for an international conference? Check out this post now!

The above example is far too casual and Scott’s work and current position are overshadowed by all the other random details. This can be written in a much better way:

Scott Sampson is a professor of Wildlife Biology at North Yankee University. His work focuses specifically on the migration patterns of antelope and their impact on the growth of native grain. His favorite place to do research in his backyard, which opens to the Akron National Forest.

This improvised version is concise, relevant, and makes Scott’s bio appear professional while giving a short description of his personal details.

Longer Bios

For longer bios, follow the same basic rules, but go into a bit more depth about your work, your education, and your future projects or interests. You may also consider adding a line about your immediate family. But as always, leave the personal details for a short and friendly mention at the end of the bio.

Mostly, your bio will be used by someone to introduce you at a conference or public event so if you write your bio using these tips, you will help them give a smooth and accurate introduction. Remember that the bio is the first thing that people know about you so pack it full of the most important things about yourself!

If you would like to know more about different formats of academic biography, read the next article in this series!

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Point of View: It's Personal

What to Know The point of view of a story determines who is telling it and the narrator's relationship to the characters in the story. In first person point of view the narrator is a character in the story telling it from their perspective. In third person point of view the narrator is not part of the story and the characters never acknowledge the narrator's presence. Less common than first and third is second person point of view. In second person point of view the reader is part of the story. The narrator describes the reader's actions, thoughts, and background using "you."

It's all about how you look at it.

When you tell a story, an important thing to choose is the point of view that the story should take. Point of view determines who tells the story, as well as the relationship that the narrator has to the characters in the story. A story can have a much different feel depending on who is doing the telling.

The main points of view are first person and third person, with second person appearing less frequently but still common enough that it gets studied in writing classes. These are also the terms used to distinguish the personal pronouns. The pronouns I and we are first-person pronouns; they refer to the self. The pronoun you , used for both singular and plural antecedents, is the second-person pronoun, the person who is being addressed. The third person pronouns— he , she , it , they —refer to someone or something being referred to apart from the speaker or the person being addressed. Narratives are often identified as first, second, or third person based on the kinds of pronouns they utilize.

First Person Point of View

In first-person narration, the narrator is a person in the story, telling the story from their own point of view. The narration usually utilizes the pronoun I (or we , if the narrator is speaking as part of a group). The character who tells the story might be in the middle of the action or more of a character who observes the action from the outer limits, but in either case you are getting that character’s recounting of what happens.

It also means that impressions and descriptions are colored by that character’s opinions, mood, past experiences, or even their warped perceptions of what they see and hear.

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question. I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed. — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre , 1847

In Jane Eyre , the narration is provided by the story’s title character, a governess. The information shared comes from her memories and impressions—of the weather, her knowledge of Mrs. Reed’s dining habits, and her dread at receiving a lecture from Nurse Bessie. We are likewise shielded from information that Jane doesn’t know.

Many classic works of fiction feature characters made memorable by their first-person voices: The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield), The Handmaid's Tale (Offred), or To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout Finch). In some stories, such as in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , the first person narrator (Nick Carraway) is an observer of the character around whom the story is centered (Jay Gatsby).

Second Person

Second-person narration is a little-used technique of narrative in which the action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as you . The reader is immersed into the narrative as a character involved in the story. The narrator describes what "you" do and lets you into your own thoughts and background. The most well-known piece of fiction that employs second-person narration might be Jay McInerney’s novel Bright Lights, Big City .

At the subway station you wait fifteen minutes on the platform for a train. Finally a local, enervated by graffiti, shuffles into the station. You get a seat and hoist a copy of the New York Post. The Post is the most shameful of your several addictions. — Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City , 1984

You will also find second-person narration used in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" style of books popular with younger readers, in which readers determine where the story goes by which page they turn to next. Allowing the reader to "be" the central character in the story provides an immersive reading experience, enhancing what is at stake for the character and reader.

Third Person Point of View

In third-person narration, the narrator exists outside the events of the story, and relates the actions of the characters by referring to their names or by the third-person pronouns he, she, or they.

Third-person narration can be further classified into several types: omniscient, limited, and objective.

Third Person Omniscient

Omniscient means "all-knowing," and likewise an omniscient narrator knows every character’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations even if that character doesn’t reveal any of those things to the other characters.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott serves as a good example of third-person omniscient narration:

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. "It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. "I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff. "We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner. The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, "We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was. — Louisa May Alcott, Little Women , 1868

The story is not told from the point of view of Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy, but from someone who is observing the four sisters as they talk to one another. Each character is therefore referred to by their names or the third-person pronoun she . The narrator does not exist as a character in the story, and the girls do not acknowledge the narrator’s presence.

However, the narrator is omniscient, which means that they know what the characters are thinking. This is demonstrated in the last line of the excerpt, when the girls silently ponder the thought of their father never returning from the war.

Third Person Limited

In third-person limited narration, the narrator still exists outside the events of the story, but does not know the motivations or thoughts of all the characters. Rather, one character is the driver of the story, and the reader is given a closer peek into that character’s psyche than the others.

J. K. Rowling utilizes third-person limited narration in the Harry Potter novels. Even though the narrator is not Harry, and Harry is referred to as 'he,' the reader is allowed into Harry's thoughts—what he is wondering without saying out loud. We are also, like Harry, left uncertain about what other characters are thinking:

Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn't see any way out of his situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him. What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably starve to death anyway. — J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , 1999

Third-Person Objective

In third-person objective narration, the narrator reports the events that take place without knowing the motivations or thoughts of any of the characters. We know little about what drives them until we hear them speak or observe their actions. The resulting tone is often matter-of-fact, not colored by any opinions or commentary, nor of knowledge of what takes place outside the scene.

The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 25th. But in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner. — Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery," 1948

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Emily Mullin

Watch Neuralink’s First Human Subject Demonstrate His Brain-Computer Interface

On Wednesday, Neuralink introduced the first human subject to receive the company’s brain implant , a 29-year-old man who has been paralyzed from the shoulders down for eight years after a diving accident.

In a brief livestream on the social media platform X, the man introduced himself as Noland Arbaugh and said he’s able to play online chess and the video game Civilization using the Neuralink device. “If y’all can see the cursor moving around the screen, that’s all me,” he said during the livestream as he moved a digital chess piece. “It's pretty cool, huh?”

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

Neuralink, which was cofounded in 2016 by billionaire Elon Musk, is developing a system known as a brain-computer interface , which decodes movement intention from brain signals. The company’s initial goal is to allow paralyzed people to control a cursor or keyboard using just their thoughts.

In the livestream, Arbaugh describes learning how to use the brain-computer interface. “I would attempt to move, say, my right hand left, right, forward, back, and from there I think it just became intuitive for me to start imagining the cursor moving,” he said. While the livestream contained relatively few details, a Neuralink engineer said in the video that more information would be released in the coming days.

Arbaugh added that he feels lucky to be part of the Neuralink study: “I just can’t even describe how cool it is to be able to do this.”

The company received a green light from the US Food and Drug Administration last year to move ahead with an initial human trial and began recruiting paralyzed participants in the fall to test the device.

Until now, Neuralink has revealed few details about the progress of that study. In an X post in January , Musk announced that the first human subject had received Neuralink’s implant and was “recovering well.” In February he said that the person had recovered and was able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts.

Will Knight

Aarian Marshall

“Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of,” Musk said on February 19 in a Spaces audio conversation on X, in response to a question about the participant’s condition. The “patient is able to move a mouse around the screen just by thinking,” he added.

Neuralink’s device is implanted in the brain using a surgical robot the company developed; it is cosmetically invisible once in place. The company has designed software that analyzes brain signals and translates them into output commands to control external devices.

Some neuroscientists and ethicists have criticized Neuralink’s previous lack of transparency around the trial. What’s publicly known about Neuralink’s study comes from social media posts and a brief brochure the company published last year.

Neuralink has not revealed the number of subjects that will be enrolled in the study, the trial site, or outcomes that will be assessed. And the company has not registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, a government repository that contains information on medical studies involving human subjects. The company has also faced controversy over the alleged treatment of animals used in its research. A WIRED investigation last year detailed how some of its monkeys died as a result of the company’s brain implant testing.

Arbaugh seemingly addressed the safety concerns surrounding the device. “I think, like, there's nothing to be afraid of,” he said. “The surgery was super easy. I literally was released from the hospital a day later.” He said he has no cognitive impairments following the surgery.

Several other companies are racing to commercialize brain-computer interfaces . One competitor, Synchron, is developing a stent-like device that is inserted into the jugular vein and pushed up so that it lays against the brain. The New York–based company implanted its first subject in 2019 and since has shown that the device is safe and has enabled people with paralysis to browse the web and do online shopping and banking . The FDA hasn’t approved any BCI yet; they are all still experimental.

Arbaugh acknowledged that he has run into some issues using the device. “I don’t want people to think that this is the end of the journey. There’s a lot of work to be done,” he said. “But it has already changed my life.”

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'3 Body Problem' presents a fascinating take on an alien invasion story

Eric Deggans

Based on the sci-fi book series Remembrance of Earth's Past , the Netflix series 3 Body Problem imagines Earth's first extensive contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

An interpretation of a celebrated Chinese science-fiction novel, "Remembrance Of Earth's Past," debuts tomorrow on Netflix. The series is called "3 Body Problem." NPR TV critic Eric Deggans gives us his impressions of this new take on an alien invasion story.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: "3 Body Problem" actually starts with two problems - first, a string of unexplained suicides by scientists where they write numbers on the wall in their own blood. These deaths are investigated by two men, one of whom is played by Marvel movie alum Benedict Wong.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "3 BODY PROBLEM")

BENEDICT WONG: (As Da Shi) Another countdown.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) One of the betting sites had him pegged as a favorite for the next Nobel Prize in physics.

WONG: (As Da Shi) You can bet on that?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) You can bet on anything, boss.

DEGGANS: That corpse was actually missing his eyes.

The other problem is that science seems to have stopped working, as researchers report results from experiments in supercolliders that make no sense. Jovan Adepo plays a scientist puzzling over what's happened with a colleague.

JOVAN ADEPO: (As Saul Durand) You told us it doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is - if it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) I think that was Feynman, but yeah.

ADEPO: (As Saul Durand) According to the experiments, all of our theories are wrong. All of the physics of the past 60 years is wrong. Science is broken.

DEGGANS: If you're sensing that "3 Body Problem" takes its time in building a narrative, then you've discovered a third problem. It takes a while to gather steam. You're three episodes in before the narrative really gets arresting, and there's a bit of filler in the early episodes. This may not be a surprise, given two of the Netflix series' three creators are David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, former showrunners of HBO's "Game Of Thrones," a program which could have its own problems with narrative flow. Still, once "3 Body Problem" gets going, it reveals a unique kind of invasion attacking the world's scientists, who start seeing a bizarre countdown appear in their vision no one else can perceive. Eiza Gonzalez is one of those scientists who thinks she's going crazy until she gets a visit from a very mysterious woman.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) The Lord has a better way.

EIZA GONZALEZ: (As Auggie Salazar) Listen, you seem like a very nice person. I'm just not interested, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) How far as it got - the countdown? How much time do you have left? It's easy to make it stop. You put an end to your work. You shut down the lab. Simple.

DEGGANS: Simple? Well, I'm not so sure about that. This show is based on a 2008 novel by Chinese engineer and science fiction writer Liu Cixin, which became a book series that won praise from big names like Barack Obama. It popularized Chinese science-fiction internationally, and it makes compelling observations about the nature of society and technological progress, some of which find their way into the TV show. It kind of makes sense that Netflix, which has found success funneling audiences to TV shows from South Korea, Latin America and all over the world, would crack this sprawling narrative. The story reaches back to a young Chinese scientist watching an angry mob during China's Cultural Revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, non-English language spoken).

DEGGANS: They beat her father to death, who's also a scientist, for refusing to recant the Big Bang theory of the universe's beginnings.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, shouting) Ah.

DEGGANS: "3 Body Problem" shows that scientist, fueled by hate and loss, making a decision which puts the entire planet at risk. The TV show amps up the thriller elements from the books to pose a compelling challenge - how to fight an alien enemy targeting the world's scientific progress. The story arcs across many genres, combining an ambitious narrative with ideas rooted in actual science and eye-popping visual effects to create a truly impressive tale. Just remember to be patient early on as it sets the stage. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF RAMIN DJAWADI'S "MAIN TITLE (FROM THE NETFLIX SERIES "3 BODY PROBLEM")"

Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Sean Combs’s Hip-Hop Rise, Controversies and Legal Disputes: A Timeline

The music mogul, who fueled the commercial success of rap over a 30-year career, is facing multiple lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct.

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By Jonathan Abrams ,  Elena Bergeron and Matt Stevens

Sean Combs, the hitmaking hip-hop mogul also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, is facing multiple accusations of sexual assault. In late 2023, he reached a settlement in an explosive lawsuit with Casandra Ventura, who had alleged that Mr. Combs, 54, raped and physically abused her over about a decade. As part of “an ongoing investigation,” agents from the Department of Homeland Security on March 25 raided homes in the Los Angeles area and Miami connected to Mr. Combs. A key driver of hip-hop’s takeover of mainstream pop, Mr. Combs has had a career in music, fashion and TV for more than 30 years that has been periodically interrupted by run-ins with the law.

An Ambitious Intern’s Rocky Ascent

Mr. Combs, a relatively unknown 22-year-old radio station intern, co-hosted a celebrity basketball game with the rapper Heavy D. A stampede erupted among the jammed crowd inside the oversold City College of New York gymnasium, killing nine people.

A report commissioned by Mayor David N. Dinkins criticized Mr. Combs for allowing inexperienced underlings to plan the event and for tricking ticket buyers about the event’s charitable intentions.

“City College is something I deal with every day of my life,” Mr. Combs said in 1998. “But the things that I deal with can in no way measure up to the pain that the families deal with. I just pray for the families and pray for the children who lost their lives every day.”

A year later, as an intern at Uptown Records, Mr. Combs’s production on the remix of Jodeci’s “Come and Talk to Me” helped the single to sell 3 million copies, announcing him as a rising talent. He went on to help produce remixes for Heavy D, the reggae artist Super Cat, and “Real Love” by the R&B singer Mary J. Blige, which introduced the rapper the Notorious B.I.G.

Starting Bad Boy Records

Mr. Combs’s Bad Boy Records, founded a year earlier after his termination from Uptown, scored its first major success, as the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ready to Die” album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. The debut drew critical acclaim for its portrayal of “both the excitement of drug dealing and the stress caused by threats from other dealers, robbers, the police and parents,” as The New York Times wrote at the time, and spawned the hit records “Juicy,” “One More Chance” and “Big Poppa.” To date, the album has been certified six-times platinum.

His work on Blige’s “My Life” album that year garnered his first Grammy nomination (for best R&B album).

Missing the Notorious B.I.G.

Mr. Combs charted some of the most notable accolades of his career before and after the death of B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, who was killed in a drive-by shooting on March 9, six months after the killing of his rival Tupac Shakur.

Opening the year with the release of “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” Mr. Combs’s first single as the artist Puff Daddy, the song spent six weeks at No. 1 ahead of the anticipated release of a full-length album. Four months after Wallace’s death, “No Way Out,” credited to Puff Daddy & the Family, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 561,000 copies in its first week and spawning multiple chart-topping singles. The biggest of those, “I’ll Be Missing You,” featured Wallace’s widow, Faith Evans, and the R&B group 112. The requiem, which samples the Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” spent 11 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The LP earned Combs Grammy wins for best rap album and best rap performance by a duo or group.

That year, four of the 10 songs that reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 belonged to Bad Boy Records.

Arrests for Allegations of Public Violence

After a dispute over the use of footage in a music video, the record producer Steve Stoute claimed Mr. Combs and his bodyguards beat him with a champagne bottle, a telephone, a chair and their fists during an April incident.

Mr. Combs faced up to seven years in prison had he been convicted of felony assault. Instead, Mr. Stoute asked the Manhattan district attorney to drop the charges after Mr. Combs publicly apologized. Mr. Combs had said he was upset that Mr. Stoute, an Interscope Records executive, used footage of him being crucified on a cross in the video for the rapper Nas’s “Hate Me Now.”

“Puff soaked Interscope offices with champagne bottles on Steve/And Steve thought the drama is on me,” Nas wrote in a 2002 song that immortalized the altercation.

That December, an argument broke out at a Manhattan nightclub where Mr. Combs was spending a night out with the actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, his girlfriend at the time.

At least two people were injured by gunfire. The details and timeline of the interaction remained muddled throughout a highly publicized trial. The famed attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. defended Mr. Combs and multiple witnesses testified that the music executive had held a gun. Mr. Combs was charged with gun possession and bribery but found not guilty. His one-time protégé, the rapper Shyne, born Jamal Barrow, received a 10-year prison sentence for assault, gun possession and reckless endangerment.

Making the Band by Making Demands

In 2002, Mr. Combs took over MTV’s “Making the Band,” a reality show aimed at assembling budding rappers and singers into performing groups. The seasons produced the ensemble acts Da Band and Danity Kane, and portrayed Mr. Combs as a demanding boss, who famously made members walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn to secure him cheesecake.

In recent years, multiple band members have spoken out against what they described as mistreatment from Mr. Combs and bad contracts. Da Band’s Freddy P described Mr. Combs as the reason he “hates” life in an Instagram post last year.

That summer, Mr. Combs terminated the label’s joint venture with Arista, leaving the deal with full ownership of Bad Boy Records and its back catalog. Despite the label’s run of R&B hits and attempts to find a rap act of the magnitude of the Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy remained its most reliable star.

Back at No. 1

“Shake Ya Tailfeather,” a single from the “Bad Boys II” soundtrack performed by Nelly, Murphy Lee and P. Diddy, as Mr. Combs was then known, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 100 and garnered Mr. Combs’s second Grammy Award for best rap performance by a duo or group (and third overall).

Building an Empire Beyond Music

Mr. Combs expanded his business empire beyond the record industry, earning top men's wear designer honors from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for his Sean John clothing brand (2004), forging a partnership to release Ciroc vodka (2009) and founding Revolt TV (2013). His portfolio in 2022 is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1 billion.

Another Arrest on Assault Charges

In 2015, Mr. Combs was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, making terrorist threats and battery after an altercation with a U.C.L.A. football coach. In a news release, the university described the weapon as a kettlebell. Justin Combs, Mr. Combs’s son, began playing football at the university in 2012.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said that prosecutors decided against pursuing felony charges after the incident, according to The Washington Post .

November 2023

An Explosive Lawsuit Interrupts Combs’s Hip-Hop Celebration

Amid the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop , Mr. Combs was honored for his pioneering role in the expansion of the genre with a citation as a global icon at the MTV Video Music Awards in September, on the heels of being recognized with a lifetime achievement honor at the BET Awards in 2022.

In November, Mr. Combs’s “The Love Album: Off the Grid” was nominated for a Grammy for best progressive R&B album.

Later that month, the R&B singer Cassie, who was once signed to Bad Boy and who had a lengthy romantic partnership with Mr. Combs, filed a lawsuit in federal court that accused him of rape, and of repeated physical abuse over about a decade.

Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, said in the suit that not long after she met Mr. Combs in 2005, when she was 19, he began a pattern of control and abuse that included plying her with drugs, beating her and forcing her to have sex with a succession of male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters. In 2018, the suit said, near the end of their relationship, Mr. Combs forced his way into her home and raped her.

Through a lawyer, Mr. Combs said that he “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.”

One day after Ms. Ventura filed the suit, the two parties reached an agreement to resolve the case , though they disclosed no details about the terms of the settlement. “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” Ms. Ventura said in a statement. Mr. Combs said in a statement: “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”

November to December 2023

More Accusations of Sexual Misconduct Emerge

One week after he settled the suit with Ms. Ventura, Mr. Combs was accused in a second lawsuit of sexually assaulting another woman, Joi Dickerson-Neal, in 1991.

In her suit, Ms. Dickerson-Neal accused Mr. Combs of drugging her during an evening out in New York when she was on a break from Syracuse University, where she was a student. She was eventually driven to a place Mr. Combs was staying, where according to the lawsuit, she accused him of raping her and recording the encounter on video.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Combs said he “completely denied and rejected” the claims of misconduct.

The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan shortly before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act , a state law that allowed people who said they were sexually abused to file claims even after the statute of limitations had expired.

Less than two weeks later, a third woman accused Mr. Combs in a lawsuit that said he and two other men raped her inside a New York recording studio when she was 17 years old.

The woman, who is not named in court papers, said she met two associates of Mr. Combs at a lounge in the Detroit area in 2003, when she was in the 11th grade. In the complaint, she alleged that they took her on a private plane to New York, where the three men gave her copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, and took turns raping her in the studio’s bathroom as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

When they were done, the suit said, the woman fell into a fetal position in a bathroom, lying on the floor in pain. She said she was soon driven to an airport and put on a plane back to Michigan.

Mr. Combs again denied wrongdoing: “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

February 2024

Music Producer Lil Rod Files $30 Million Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit

The producer Rodney Jones Jr., known as Lil Rod, accused Mr. Combs in a lawsuit of making unwanted sexual contact and of forcing him to hire prostitutes and participate in sex acts as they worked on Mr. Combs’s 2023 album, “ The Love Album: Off the Grid .”

In his complaint, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Mr. Jones said that Mr. Combs grabbed his genitals without consent, and that he also tried to “groom” Mr. Jones into having sex with another man, telling him it was “a normal practice in the music industry.”

Mr. Combs, through his attorney, denied the allegations. In a statement, Shawn Holley called the suit “a transparent attempt to garner headlines.” He added: “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”

Federal Agents Raid Two Homes Tied to Mr. Combs

Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security on March 25 raided homes in the Los Angeles area and Miami connected to Mr. Combs. Responding to questions about news reports of a raid on Mr. Combs’s residences that day, Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available.”

A spokesperson for Mr. Combs did not respond to a request for comment.

The criminal inquiry is being conducted by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a law-enforcement official said.

An earlier version of this article misstated the given name of a woman who settled a lawsuit against Mr. Combs. She is Casandra Ventura, not Cassandra.

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Jonathan Abrams writes about the intersections of sports and culture and the changing cultural scenes in the South. More about Jonathan Abrams

Elena Bergeron is an editor and writer in the Culture section of The Times. More about Elena Bergeron

Matt Stevens writes about arts and culture news for The Times. More about Matt Stevens

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Longtime Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Krystal Anderson dies after giving birth

By Caitlin O'Kane

Updated on: March 27, 2024 / 6:01 PM EDT / CBS News

A longtime Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader who was passionate about women's health died after giving birth.

Krystal Lakeshia Anderson died shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Charlotte Willow, who was stillborn, according to an obituary . 

A GoFundMe established to cover Anderson's medical expenses, memorial services and establish a "legacy fund" said that Anderson, 40, had been diagnosed with sepsis during her pregnancy . According to the GoFundMe, Anderson "sought out hospitalization during her 21st week of pregnancy." After delivering her daughter, Anderson experienced organ failure and was placed on life support. She underwent three surgeries "but the source of infection remained elusive," the GoFundMe said. Anderson died on March 20. 

Anderson is survived by her husband, Clayton William Anderson, her parents, and several other family members, according to the obituary. She was preceded in death by her infant son, James Charles. 

Anderson cheered for the Chiefs for the 2006-2011 seasons, and again for the 2013-2016 seasons, the cheerleading team said in a social media post . The squad said that she attended the Pro Bowl in 2015 and visited troops in the U.S., Iraq and Kuwait. Anderson also served the team in an alumni role even after she left the cheerleading team. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chiefs Cheer (@chiefscheer)

"She was loved and adored by her teammates, fans, and strangers who were never strangers for long," the team said on social media. 

Anderson also worked at Oracle Health as a software engineer, where she made "significant contributions to improving healthcare," according to the obituary. She was awarded a patent for developing software that assesses the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. Anderson also advocated for Black women in STEM and for women's health. 

Anderson's obituary said she "radiated joy and laughter" and described her passion for philanthropy. 

Sepsis is a condition that occurs when the body does not respond to an infection properly and the organs begin to work poorly,  according to Mayo Clinic.  Maternal sepsis is the second leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths,  according to University of New Mexico Health . The odds of developing the condition can be increased by things like prolonged labor, C-section birth, and exposure to someone with an infection, according to UNM Health.

In the last two decades, maternal deaths in the U.S. have more than doubled . 

Black mothers are at the highest risk of dying in childbirth, as CBS News previously reported . A 2020 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women in the U.S. was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births — roughly 2.9 times the rate among non-Hispanic White women. 

Dr. Henning Tiemeier, the director of Harvard's Maternal Health Task Force, called the high rate of maternal mortality among Black women "essentially one of the biggest challenges of public health."

"We see that as a top of the iceberg of poor health in women and poor health in Black women," Tiemeier said in an interview on "Face the Nation" in 2022 . "And there are several reasons, there seems to [be], from poverty to discrimination to poor care for this group of women."

In May 2023, Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie  died from complications of childbirth at age 32.

• Kansas City Chiefs

Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces "The Uplift," CBS News' streaming show that focuses on good news.

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Neuralink reveals first human-trial patient, a 29-year-old quadriplegic who says brain chip is 'not perfect' but has changed his life

• Elon Musk's neural-technology company, Neuralink, has been working on brain-chip implants.
• Musk announced in January that the company implanted a chip into its first human patient.
• It revealed its first patient, Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old quadriplegic, during a livestream.

Neuralink , Elon Musk's neural-technology company, revealed during a livestream on Wednesday that a 29-year-old man who was paralyzed after a diving accident is the first human to have received its brain-chip implant.

The patient, Noland Arbaugh, said during the livestream on X, Musk's social-media company , that the chip was "not perfect" but it had already added many improvements to his life, such as giving him the ability to play video games for hours without having to rely on help from his family.

"It's not perfect," Arbaugh said. "I would say we have run into some issues. I don't want people to think that this is the end of the journey. There's a lot of work to be done, but it has already changed my life."

Bliss Chapman, an engineer at Neuralink, joined Arbaugh for the livestream. The company, launched in 2016, has been working on a chip implant that could allow people to control computers with their brains.

Musk first announced in January that Neuralink had implanted one of its chips into a human for the first time , following several years of tests conducted on animals.

Those animal experiments had been the subject of scrutiny after the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a medical-ethics group, accused the company of putting monkeys through "extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments."

PCRM asked the US regulators to investigate Musk for securities fraud after he posted on X that "No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant." Musk later said that Neuralink's facilities were like " monkey paradise ."

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PCRM said in a letter to the SEC that "Musk knows that to be false." The SEC has not indicated whether it's investigating Neuralink.

During the livestream, Arbaugh sat in a specialized chair in front of a laptop.

He appeared to be playing a game of chess while his hands remained on the armrests of his chair.

"I love playing chess and so this is one of the things that y'all have enabled me to do — something that I wasn't able to really do much the last few years, especially not like this," he said. "I had to use a mouse stick and stuff, but now it's all being done with my brain."

Arbaugh said he had dislocated parts of his spinal cord in a "freak diving accident" about eight years ago that left him paralyzed from below the shoulders.

His condition limited his ability to play his favorite video game, "Civilization VI," because he could only play a few hours at a time before he would need help from his family to readjust his seated position.

"I had basically given up on playing that game," he said, adding that it's a "big game" that requires a lot of time sitting still. "I have to worry about a lot of things — getting pressure sores and things like that. So I just wasn't really able to play it as much as I wanted to."

With the chip, Arbaugh said he has been able to play the video game for several hours while lying in his bed.

Arbaugh noted that the "biggest restriction" so far was having to charge the implant after playing video games for a long time.

He said that controlling Neuralink soon became "intuitive," and that to move the computer cursor, for example, he only needed to imagine the cursor moving.

In a comparison to the "Star Wars" movies, he said it's "like using the Force on a cursor."

Watch: Elon Musk offers Starlink internet service to Gaza, enraging Israel

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Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sbf's parents: "we are heartbroken".

From CNN's Kara Scannell

Bankman-Fried's parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, issued a statement after leaving the Manhattan courtroom Thursday, saying: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.”

Some in crypto community contrast SBF's sentence with that of shuttered dark market site's founder

From CNN's Elisabeth Buchwald

Several prominent voices in the crypto community took issue with Sam Bankman Fried's 25-year sentence, given Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

Ulbricht created Silk Road — a website that let users anonymously buy and sell anything, including drugs and hacking tutorials. Transactions on the site took place using bitcoin, making it much harder to trace.

Bitcoin Magazine, a crypto publication with more than 3 million followers, posted on X shortly after SBF was sentenced on Thursday:

Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor often referred to as "bitcoin Jesus," posted on X Thursday morning ahead of Bankman-Fried's sentencing trial that Ulbricht's "'crime' was building a website where people could trade freely without government permission." Since Bankman-Fried's sentence was announced, his post has been shared by many popular crypto-linked accounts.

US Attorney Williams: SBF's sentence is a warning to others

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence "will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe."

How long will SBF actually serve?

From CNN's Allison Morrow

There is no possibility of parole in federal criminal cases, but Bankman-Fried can still shave time off his 25-year sentence with good behavior.

"SBF may serve as little as 12.5 years, if he gets all of the jailhouse credit available to him," Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor, told CNN.

Federal prisoners generally can earn up to 54 days of time credit a year for good behavior, which could result in an approximately 15% reduction.

Since 2018, however, nonviolent federal inmates can reduce their sentence by as much as 50% under prison reform legislation known as the First Step Act.

Epner says the First Step Act was billed as a civil rights measure, to help minority offenders who committed non-violent drug-trafficking offenses. 

"It has turned out to be an enormous boon for white-collar criminal defendants, who are already given much lower sentences ... than drug-traffickers," Epner added. 

There is also a provision that allows a court to reduce a person’s sentence for extraordinary and compelling reasons, which are often medical, according to Jordan Estes, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at Kramer Levin.

"Since the pandemic, courts have been more willing to grant early release under this provision if the defendant has served a substantial portion of his or her sentence,” Estes said.

Kaplan recommends medium-security federal prison

From CNN's Lauren del Valle and Allison Morrow

Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Bankman-Fried be placed in a medium-security facility or any lower-security facility the bureau finds appropriate.

Medium-security federal prisons have strengthened perimeters — often double fences with electronic detection systems — and mostly cell housing, according to the Bureau of Prisons. They also have a "wide variety of work and treatment programs."

Kaplan orders $11.02 billion forfeiture

From CNN's Lauren del Valle

Judge Kaplan also ordered a forfeiture of $11.02 billion.

He ruled Bankman-Fried's forfeited assets can be used to help fund the repayment of victims of the FTX collapse.

Correction: A previous version of this post misstated the forfeiture amount. It is $11.02 billion.

Judge Kaplan: "Not a trivial risk" that SBF could commit crimes again

Judge Lewis Kaplan, just before announcing Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence, said there was a risk "that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future, and it's not a trivial risk."

Bankman-Fried acknowledged his mistakes and said he was sorry for what happened to customers but "never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes," Judge Kaplan said.

"He knew it was wrong," he added.

Bankman-Fried is sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for defrauding customers and investors in crypto exchange FTX.

Judge Kaplan: SBF wanted to be a 'hugely, hugely politically influential person'

Kaplan says many facts are not disputed, including that SBF had "an exceptionally privileged background."

"He is extremely smart. And he suffers from autism," Kaplan said, noting his understanding of the condition. Kaplan said SBF "is capable of huge accomplishments" while noting he has "a way of interacting with people that’s unusual and sometimes off-putting."

Kaplan agreed with prosecutors' claim that Bankman-Fried "wanted to be a hugely, hugely politically influential person in this country," and that that propelled his financial crimes.

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Former Sen. Joe Lieberman has died at 82

Former Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has died, his family announced in a statement Wednesday. He was 82.

Lieberman died Wednesday afternoon in New York with his wife, Hadassah, and other loved ones at his side after he suffered complications from a fall, his family said in the statement.

"Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest," his family said.

Lieberman was the Democratic vice presidential nominee who ran with former Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election.

In a statement on X Wednesday night, Gore called Lieberman a man of integrity whose "strong will made him a force to be reckoned with."

"It was an honor to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail," Gore said.

The pair were defeated by former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

In his own statement, Bush said he was “saddened” by the loss of Lieberman, referring to him as “one of the most decent people I met during my time in Washington.”

“As Laura and I pray for Hadassah and the Lieberman family, we also pray that Joe’s example of decency guides our Nation’s leaders now and into the future,” Bush said.

In his later years, Lieberman was co-chairman of No Labels and was heading up the  committee  to vet its potential unity ticket candidates. A hefty share of the group’s leadership and key staff members had left over the last year. Lieberman was effectively the group’s top spokesperson through its effort this past year to field a third-party ticket.

In a statement, No Labels, which encourages cooperation across the aisle, referred to Lieberman as the “moral center” of its movement and called his death “a profound loss for all of us.”

And Republicans praised him Wednesday. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa,  on X  commended Lieberman’s commitment to working with “anyone regardless of political stripe.”

Lieberman’s passing was also mourned by lawmakers in his state, including Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who in a statement Wednesday cited “political differences” with Lieberman but referred to him as “a man of integrity and conviction.”

In 2006, Lamont launched a challenge against Lieberman in the state's Democratic primary, narrowly defeating him for the party's Senate nomination. After he conceded the primary, Lieberman vowed to run as an independent and ultimately won his fourth and final term.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said the state was “shocked” by Lieberman’s sudden death.

“In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one," Murphy wrote on X.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also expressed his condolences in a statement on X, referring to Lieberman as a longtime friend of more than 50 years, "a man of deep conscience [and] conviction, [and] a courageous leader who sought to bridge gaps and bring people together."

International leaders have also weighed in, with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Lieberman, who was Jewish, "an exemplary public servant, an American patriot and a matchless champion of the Jewish people and the Jewish state."

The Republican Jewish Coalition's national chairman, former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, called him "a true mensch and a great American."

Lieberman’s funeral will be Friday at Congregation Agudath Sholom in his hometown, Stamford, Connecticut, his family said. A second memorial service is expected to be announced later.

Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.