Ellen Hopkins was born in Long Beach, California on March 26, 1955. She was adopted by Albert (72) and Valeria (42) Wagner. She grew up in Palm Springs, where she went to private school. At age 9 she published her first poem, that is when she knew she wanted to be a writer. She had one brother, who was adopted seperately and his name was Albert Jr. She atteneded high school in Sata Ynez Valley in California. She then went on to attend to college at UCSB where she studied journalism. She left college to get married, have kids, and start her own business. That didn't last very long though before she had met John Hopkins in 1984. She soon divorced her husband, got re-married and then pursued her dream of becoming a writer. She has 3 kids, Jason (31), Cristal (29), Kelly (27), and adopted a baby from her oldest daughter Orion who is now 11. He is the baby from the book crank. Her oldest daughter is also the girl in Crank.
