English novelist, most famous for the James Bond series.

Born into a wealthy and influential English family, he spent his early years attending top British schools such as Eton and Sandhurst. He took to writing while at school in Austria, and upon failing the entrance requirements for the Foreign Service joined the news agency Reuters as a journalist. He briefly worked for the family bank, but just prior to World War II was recruited into British Naval Intelligence where he excelled, shortly achieving the rank of Commander.

When the war ended, Fleming retired to Jamaica where he built a house called Goldeneye, took up writing full-time and created the character that would make him famous - British Secret Service agent James Bond, in a novel called Casino Royale. He spent the rest of his life writing and travelling the world, but as his Bond character reached new heights of popularity on movie screens, he was in ailing health. He died of a heart attack at the age of 56.