Work as a nanny and visits to The Hamptons formed the background for the 2004 to 2007 series The Au Pairs. Work as a fashion writer for Marie Claire was the inspiration for How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003) by de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz. investment bank Morgan Stanley, she pursued writing full-time. After publication of her debut novel in 2001, and layoff from the U.S. De la Cruz has published articles in periodicals including The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine. She also worked as a beauty and fashion editor until she sold her debut novel, The Cat's Meow, in 1998. She started working freelance and published her first essay in New York Press in 1996. That novel ultimately didn't sell, but an editor at Little, Brown suggested she become a journalist to work on her professional writing credits. Career ĭe La Cruz wrote her first full-length novel at 22 while living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust.

They and their daughter live in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California. Personal life ĭe la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, another writer, with whom she co-wrote the Heart of Dread series. After graduation she worked as a computer consultant. She went on to study art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. She immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 13, in 1985, and they settled in San Francisco, where she graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines and says that she has wanted to be an author since she was eleven years old. Her young-adult series include Au Pairs, the Blue Bloods, and The Beauchamp Family. Melissa de la Cruz (born 1971) is a Filipina-American writer known for young adult fiction.

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