Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands in 1976. His work reflects the image of a Mestiço Brazil and is marked by religious syncretism. He depicted a cheerful and optimistic country that was beset, at the same time, with deep social and economic differences.

He occupied the 23rd chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1961 until his death in 2001. He won the 1984 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Jorge Amado also served as a Federal Deputy for São Paulo for the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) between 1947 and 1951.

Amado's literary work presents two distinct phases. The first focuses on social criticism and political themes, with notable works such as Captains of the Sands and Sea of Death. In his more mature phase, he adopted a good-humored and sensual style.