L.J. Smith, the author of The Vampire Diaries book series, has died, and the news of her death was confirmed recently. Known for her influential work in young adult fiction, Smith created the novels that inspired the hit CW television series.
Here’s what we know so far about L.J. Smith’s death.
L.J. Smith cause of death explained
L.J. Smith, author of the bestselling Vampire Diaries novels, died on March 8, 2025, in Walnut Creek, California. She was 66.
Her partner, Julie Divola, and sister, Judy Clifford, confirmed she died in a hospital after experiencing complications from a rare autoimmune disease that she had endured for a decade.
Lisa Jane Smith, born on September 4, 1958, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, grew up in Villa Park, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in experimental psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1982 and worked as a kindergarten and special education teacher before becoming a full-time writer.
Smith began writing her first fantasy novel, The Night of the Solstice, while still in high school. She published the book in 1987, and although it sold only about 5,000 copies, it caught the attention of Alloy Entertainment, a book packaging company later acquired by Warner Bros.
Alloy hired Smith to write The Vampire Diaries as a young adult response to the success of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. She released the first book in the series in 1991. In 2009, the CW network adapted her novels into a popular television drama starring Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley.
Alloy eventually dismissed Smith under a work-for-hire contract and replaced her with a ghostwriter. She returned to writing in the 2010s and used fan fiction to reclaim her characters. In 2014, The Wall Street Journal described her comeback as “one of the strangest comebacks in literary history.”
According to her agent, John Silbersack, “She had been quite ill, but despite the difficulties and the pain, she was fiercely dedicated to continuing to write” (via The New York Times.) Smith is survived by her partner, Julie Divola.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.
