Donald Spoto

A prolific and respected biographer and theologian, Donald Spoto is the author of nineteen published books, among them best-selling biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams and Ingrid Bergman. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Donald Spoto earned his Ph.D. degree in New Testament Studies at Fordham University. After years as a theology professor, he turned to full-time writing. With the publication of The Hidden Jesus: A New Life in 1999, he produced a book hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "offering a mature faith fit for the new millennium." The Toronto Star proclaimed it "the finest life of Christ to come along in decades." His enormously successful biography of Saint Francis was published in autumn 2002.

Donald Spoto lives in Los Angeles. He lectures worldwide on important issues in theology, the arts and social issues, and he serves on the boards of directors of Human Rights Watch, Death Penalty Focus and the Youth Law Center.