Winston Francis Groom Jr. was born on 1943-03-23 in Washington, D.C., USA, and grew up in Alabama. He attended UMS-Wright Preparatory School and later studied English at the University of Alabama, graduating in 1965. Groom served in the U.S. Army from 1965–1967, including a tour in Vietnam where he rose to the rank of captain. After his military service, he worked as a reporter and columnist for the Washington Star before turning to full-time writing in 1976.
His most famous work, Forrest Gump, was published in 1986 and became a cultural phenomenon after being adapted into the 1994 Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks. Groom later wrote a sequel, Gump & Co. (1995), and several other novels and historical nonfiction works, including El Paso (2016). He passed away on 2020-09-17 in Fairhope, Alabama, at the age of 77, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential Southern writers of his generation.Winston Francis Groom Jr. was born on 1943-03-23 in Washington, D.C., USA, and grew up in Alabama. He attended UMS-Wright Preparatory School and later studied English at the University of Alabama, graduating in 1965. Groom served in the U.S. Army from 1965–1967, including a tour in Vietnam where he rose to the rank of captain. After his military service, he worked as a reporter and columnist for the Washington Star before turning to full-time writing in 1976.
His most famous work, Forrest Gump, was published in 1986 and became a cultural phenomenon after being adapted into the 1994 Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks. Groom later wrote a sequel, Gump & Co. (1995), and several other novels and historical nonfiction works, including El Paso (2016). He passed away on 2020-09-17 in Fairhope, Alabama, at the age of 77, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential Southern writers of his generation.