E. L. James E. L. James Erika Leonard (née Mitchell; born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is an English author. She wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey", "Fifty Shades Darker", and "Fifty Shades Freed", along with the companion novels "" and ""; and under the name Snowqueen's Icedragon the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that was the basis for the Fifty Shades trilogy. The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the
Fifty Shades of Grey (film) to lampoon." Fifty Shades of Grey (film) Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, with a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. The film is based on E. L. James’ 2011 novel of the same name and stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, a college graduate who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan. The film premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2015 and was released on February 13, 2015, by Universal Pictures and Focus Features. Despite receiving generally negative reviews,