Australian · b. 1951
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer who became one of the best-selling self-help authors of the 2000s. Born in Victoria, she worked in Australian television for many years and ran the production company Prime Time Productions. In 2006 she produced the documentary The Secret, then published the book of the same name, which presents the law of attraction as a method for gaining wealth, health and happiness. The book sold more than 30 million copies and was translated into dozens of languages. Byrne followed it with The Power in 2010, The Magic in 2012 and Hero in 2013, and later added further titles on the same themes. Her work brought the law of attraction and manifestation to a mass audience. Critics have called her claims pseudoscience, but the books remain widely read and shaped much of the popular self-help market.