Portrait of Elizabeth Gilbert

Birthday profile

Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert, American author

Born
July 18, 1969
Age in 2026
57
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1969

About Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. Her 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also made into a film of the same name in 2010. == Early life and education == Gilbert was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1969. Her father, John Gilbert, was a chemical engineer at Uniroyal; her mother, Carole, was a nurse who established a Planned Parenthood clinic. When Gilbert was four, her parents bought a Christmas tree farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. The family lived in the countryside with no immediate neighbors, and they did not own a television or record player. Consequently, the family read a great deal, and Gilbert and her older sister, Catherine Gilbert Murdock, entertained themselves by writing books and plays. Gilbert has said that her parents were not hippies, but modern pioneers: "My parents are the only people I've ever known who made their own goat's-milk yogurt and voted for Reagan twice. That's a Venn diagram that doesn't include anyone else." Gilbert attended New York University.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Elizabeth Gilbert timeline

  1. Gilbert's first book, Pilgrims (Houghton Mifflin 1997), a collection of short stories, received the Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award.
  2. Her 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages.
  3. In 2015, Gilbert and several other authors including Cheryl Strayed participated in fundraising efforts for Syrian refugees which raised over $1 million in 31 hours.

The world when Elizabeth Gilbert was born

Elizabeth Gilbert was born in 1969. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1969

  • #1 song"Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies
  • Top movieMidnight Cowboy
  • Top TV showRowan & Martin's Laugh-In
  • Best-selling bookThe Godfather – Mario Puzo

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentNew York Mets "Miracle Mets" win the World Series
  • Top headlineNeil Armstrong walks on the Moon: "One small step for man"
  • Technology milestoneApollo 11 — first humans walk on the Moon
  • Defining fadWoodstock festival
  • Notable inventionARPANET (precursor to the internet)
  • World population3.63 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championNew York Mets (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population202.7M

1969 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Elizabeth Gilbert's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19692026
Gas$0.35$3.45/gal
Average home$16,400$435,000
Average income$10,900$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.42$11.95
Postage stamp$0.06$0.73
Population202.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.