Jude Deveraux (born September 20, 1947; née Jude Gilliam) is an American author of historical romances. Deveraux has written over 40 novels, many of which have been on The New York Times Best Seller list, including such titles as A Knight in Shining Armor and Remembrance. As of 2016, she has sold over 50 million copies. Deveraux appeared as herself in the 1987 romance novelist documentary Where the Heart Roams.

Jude Gilliam was born in Fairdale, Kentucky. She has a large extended family and is the elder sister of four brothers. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. In 1967, she married and took her husband's surname of White, but they divorced four years later. For years, she worked as a 5th-grade teacher. She began writing in 1976 and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977), under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers. Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men.