- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama 24 November 2014.
- First cousin once removed of the former Chilean president Salvador Allende. Her father Tomás Allende was first cousin of Salvador Allende.
- Gave birth to her daughter Paula in 1963 and her son Nicolás Frias in 1966.
- Sister of Dr. Juan Allende, an associate professor of Political Science at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and Francisco Allende Llona.
- Born to Tomás Allende, a diplomatic official, and his wife Francisca Llona Barros, she grew up at her maternal grandparents' home after her parents had divorced in 1945.
- Her most successful novels include "The House of the Spirits" (1982), which was adapted into The House of the Spirits (1993), "Eva Luna" (1987), "Paula" (1995), "Daughter of Fortune" (1999) and "Portrait in Sepia" (2000).
- Her daughter Paula died at the age of 29 after being in a coma from complications of porphyria (6 December 1992).
- Obtained US citizenship (2003).
- Resides in San Rafael, California with her second husband Willie Gordon, a lawyer and novelist.
- One of the eight women bearing the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of Turin 2006: XX Olympic Winter Games (2006).
- Inducted into the Marin [County, California] Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.
- Always starts a new book on January 8th after destroying all her notes from the preceding novel. She writes in Spanish (her native tongue) and her work is then translated into various languages.
- Resides in Sausalito, California. (2023)
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