J. M. Coetzee is 86 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 9 February 1940.
South African-born novelist of Disgrace and Life & Times of Michael K who won two Booker Prizes and the Nobel
Did you know?He was the first person to win the Booker Prize twice, achieving the feat with his novels in different decades.
Quick facts
Date of birth9 February 1940
Age86
NationalitySouth African-Australian
BirthplaceCape Town, South Africa
Occupationlinguist, translator, novelist
Editor's Take:
J. M. Coetzee writes spare, unsettling novels about power and conscience. He grew up in South Africa under apartheid and worked as a computer programmer in London. His novels, such as Waiting for the Barbarians, explore cruelty and complicity. Disgrace follows a disgraced professor in post-apartheid South Africa. He was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice. He is famously private and rarely gives interviews. He won the Nobel Prize in 2003 and moved to Australia.
Key Milestones
1974: Dusklands – first novel
1980: Waiting for the Barbarians – novel
1983: Michael K – Booker
1999: Disgrace – Booker
John Maxwell Coetzee (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, Coetzee is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in the English language.
J. M. Coetzee's birthday is February 9. He was born on February 9, 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa.
How old is J. M. Coetzee?
J. M. Coetzee is 86 years old, and turns 87 on his next birthday, February 9.
Who shares a birthday with J. M. Coetzee?
Famous people who share J. M. Coetzee's February 9 birthday include William Henry Harrison, Thomas Paine, Alice Walker, Joseph Stiglitz and Tom Hiddleston.
