Helen Fielding (born 19 Feb 1958) is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones and a sequence of novels and films beginning with the life of a thirty something singleton in London trying to make sense of life and love. Bridget Jones's Diary (1996) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (1999) were published in 40 countries and sold more than 15 million copies. The two films of the same name achieved international success. In a survey conducted by The Guardian newspaper, Bridget Jones’s Diary was named as one of the ten novels that best defined the 20th century. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Fielding was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. Less