Alain de Botton is a Swiss-born British author and public speaker, born on 20 December 1969. His work frequently discusses contemporary subjects and themes, with a strong emphasis on philosophy's application to everyday life.

He first gained fame with his book Essays in Love (1993), which sold two million copies. Other bestselling works include How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004), and The Architecture of Happiness (2006).

In addition to his writing, de Botton co-founded The School of Life in 2008 and Living Architecture in 2009. His contributions to literature were recognized in 2011 when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2015, he received "The Fellowship of Schopenhauer," an annual writers' award from the Melbourne Writers Festival.