- Spent much of her later life in solitude on a 200-year old farmhouse near Locarno, Switzerland, surrounded by books and cats.
- Disliked being classified as a 'crime writer'. She is perhaps better described as an author of psychological thrillers, often examining people put into harrowing situations through seemingly innocuous catalysts.
- Although she was quite open about having had several lesbian relationships in her life, mostly short-lasting, she did at one time seriously consider marrying the writer Marc Brandel, although they agreed to abandon the idea eventually.
- Used the pseudonym Claire Morgan for the novel The Price of Salt (later retitled Carol) because of its autobiographical lesbian theme, to avoid pigeonholing.
- In-between England (she lived in Suffolk from 1963 - 1967) and Switzerland (she moved to Switzerland in 1983), Patricia Highsmith spent many years living in France not far from Fontainebleau in a small village called Montcourt where she wrote her second, third and fourth of five Ripley sequels. Belle Ombre, Ripley's fictitious house, is located very close to Montcourt. Andrew Wilson wrote a biography on Highsmith called "Beautiful Shadow" a translation of Belle Ombre.
- Raised by her grandmother in Greenwich Village, and taught to read at the age of two.
- Emigrated to England in 1951. Lived most of her life in Switzerland.
- Her work enjoyed greater popularity in Europe than in the United States.
- President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival in 1978.
- Attended Barnard College
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