American writer Jane Bowles was BOTD in 1917. Born Jane Auer in New York City, she was raised in Long Island, before attending boarding school in Switzerland. She returned to New York in the 1930s, joining the Bohemian literary scene in Greenwich Village. In 1938, she married writer Paul Bowles, settling into a platonic relationship and separately pursuing same-sex affairs. They honeymooned in Paris, where she visited lesbian bars, inspiring her 1943 novel Two Serious Ladies, then toured Mexico, where she had an affair with Helvetia Perkins. She then followed Paul to Morocco in 1948, settling in Tangier and having a turbulent affair with a Moroccan woman named Cherifa. The publication of Paul’s novel The Sheltering Sky in 1949 made him internationally famous. Based heavily on their marriage and Jane’s relationships, the book effectively eclipsed her literary career. Her play In the Summer House was produced on Broadway in 1953 to mixed reviews. After years of struggling with alcoholism, Jane had a stroke in 1957, leaving her partially blind. She continued writing, though her health declined, requiring her to seek treatment in England, the United States and Spain. Nursed by Paul for years, she died in 1973 aged 56. The 1990 film adaptation of The Sheltering Sky starred Debra Winger as Kit Moresby, a character modelled on Jane.