(1954-)

Who Is Sandra Cisneros?

Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. Her novel The House on Mango Street, about a young Latina woman coming of age in Chicago, has sold more than two million copies. Cisneros has received numerous awards for her work, including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Texas Medal of the Arts. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Early Life and Career

American writer and poet. Born on December 20, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. One of seven children and the only daughter, she has written extensively about the Latina experience in the United States. Cisneros is best known for The House on Mango Street (1984), which tells the story of a young Latina woman coming of age in Chicago. The novel has sold more than two million copies.

Books and Awards

Cisneros has explored many literary forms in her work. She wrote several collections of poetry, including My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1987), which was well received by critics. She created an impressionistic portrait of life on the border between the United States and Mexico through a series of vignettes in Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991).

Cisneros has received numerous awards for her work, including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1995 and the Texas Medal of the Arts Award in 2003. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.

In September 2016, President Barack Obama presented Cisneros with a National Medal of Arts. At the ceremony, President Obama said Cisneros was being honored “for enriching the American narrative. Through her novels, short stories, and poetry, she explores issues of race, class, and gender through the lives of ordinary people straddling multiple cultures. As an educator, she has deepened our understanding of American identity.”

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QUICK FACTS

• Name: Sandra Cisneros
• Birth Year: 1954
• Birth date: December 20, 1954
• Birth State: Illinois
• Birth City: Chicago
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Sandra Cisneros is a Latina American novelist who wrote the bestselling novel ‘The House on Mango Street.’
• Industries
• Writing and Publishing
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Sandra Cisneros Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/sandra-cisneros
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: August 18, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014