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How to write a strong one-line biography (with examples!)

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As a blogger or content marketer, you’re spreading your content across the internet to build your name as a thought leader and to drive traffic back to your (or your client’s) website.

One of the best ways to do this is via a strong biography, where sites will often allow you to also link back to somewhere. But you need to get their interest to learn more, so you need a strong one-line biography as most sites will only allow a short biography.

Here’s how you write a strong one-line biography for your blog author page:

Write in 3rd person

Highlight your role/profession.

  • Keep it short

Include a call to action

Biographies should be written in third person. Instead of “I am a serial entrepreneur…” you should write “John is a serial entrepreneur…”

Some publications may have different guidelines, in which case you should follow them, but as a general guideline always write your bio in 3rd person.

Your bio should tell readers who you are and what you do, so be sure to highlight your role or profession.

“John is a serial entrepreneur and digital marketing veteran who…”

This gives people more information about you, why you are qualified to be talking about the topic you are bylined on, and helps them decide if they want to click your link to learn more.

Don’t be afraid to brag a little bit! In our world of fake humility, finding someone who is willing to state what they’ve done can be refreshing and encourage them to click to learn more about you.

Don’t overdo it though. A quick interesting fact is usually more than enough to get them interested.

For example:

“John is a serial entrepreneur and digital marketing leader who via his company Credo has generated over a quarter billion dollars in leads for agencies since 2015.”

The lead value number is a brag, but it’s also true and lets people know that John knows what he’s doing.

Have some fun!

In today’s social media world, people want to connect with the person behind the account.

So don’t be afraid to use emojis or a bit of humor.

This advice does not carry over to a professional website like LinkedIn where people are more professional and you should present your best face to the world.

Keep it short, but readable

If you’re required to keep your biography to just one sentence, you have just 15 to 20 words on average to get your point across. You need to be succinct and make every word count.

As such, remove superlatives and flowery language that could make it harder to read. This is not the place to be cute or show off – it’s the place to communicate effectively.

Include a backlink/hyperlink

Most websites where you publish will allow you to link back to a site of your choice from your biography. Don’t be spammy and try to link back to multiple places – link to a place where people can find out more about you or your company easily.

Finally, include a call to action (CTA) if you have enough space and can work it in. At minimum, make sure you follow the above advice and include a hyperlink back to your main website where people can learn more about you or your business.

Some examples

Here are some examples of great bios.

Dan Martell (Instagram)

Dan Martell is a coach to software founders, an entrepreneur with 3 business exits, an award-winning angel investor, and a proud dad and husband.

How do we know this? Because he says so in his Instagram bio. Short and effective.

biography on sentence

Kimberly Bryant

Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls Code , a company that “build[s] pathways for young women of color to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.” Here is her Twitter biography, which clearly states what she does and gives insight into who she is.

biography on sentence

Chris Ducker

Chris Ducker is a UK-based entrepreneur who “helps midlife leaders and entrepreneurs build future proof businesses around their expertise” with his Youpreneur coaching program.

biography on sentence

Pat Flynn is a serial entrepreneur, dad, and husband who also has a physical product and a Pokemon card side hustle with over 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Here’s his Instagram profile:

biography on sentence

Rand Fishkin

Rand is also a serial entrepreneur and currently the CEO of Sparktoro, an audience insight software tool. He’s formerly the cofounder and CEO of Moz, an SEO software suite. His LinkedIn bio says succinctly what he does, and also adds a bit of personality to let you know what he believes.

biography on sentence

John Doherty

John is the founder and CEO of Credo and EditorNinja. (Hi, I’m John writing this!). His bio tells you what he cares about (his family and Colorado), what he does and the various projects he works on as well as his accomplishments.

biography on sentence

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How to Write a Short Professional Bio (With Examples and Templates)

Emily Polner

Your professional bio is one of the most important things you'll write about yourself.

In a world where just about everyone is represented online in some capacity, your professional bio will often serve as your first introduction to your intended audience. It can help influence whether someone invites you to connect, interview you, or simply move on.

But how does your professional bio work in tandem with your resume to tell your unique story? And what are some short professional bio examples you can reference to craft your own—helping you strike the perfect balance between informative and engaging?

3 key takeaways

  • What a short professional bio is and where to use one
  • How to write your professional bio (plus short professional bio examples and templates)
  • How to use the Teal  AI Resume Builder  to write a short, professional bio

What is a short professional bio? 

A short professional bio is exactly what it sounds like — a short professional biography that introduces yourself and gives a brief overview of your career and accomplishment examples . A short professional bio gives future employees, colleagues, and anyone else you're networking with a more well-rounded picture of who you are.  

We recognize that “short” is a vague term and can mean many different things. But the good news is, unless you're dealing with a certain character or space limit, there is no magic length that your bio has to be. Most short bios tend to run anywhere from one to four paragraphs, but feel free to make yours whatever length you think would work best for you. 

Your short professional bio can be displayed many different places, including but not limited to: your website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter profile, in press features, and your resume. 

What should I include in a short professional bio? 

Before you sit down to write your bio, it might be helpful for you to think of it as not only a bio, but also an elevator pitch for your target audience. You want to produce a compelling professional bio. Your bio should answer the question: what would you want someone who doesn't know you at all to know about your career so far? 

Below are some thought-starters to set you up for success. 

As a working professional

Whether you've been working for six months or 15 years, consider including these in your bio: 

  • Where you're based
  • Where you're from
  • What university, trade school, or bootcamp you attended (if any)
  • Your current or former career titles
  • Your career goals
  • Relevant awards, accolades, or press features you've garnered
  • Your professional experience, skills, and area(s) of expertise
  • What you like to do in your spare time (personal interests, hobbies, side hustles, etc.) 

To make sure you're providing the most relevant skills to a potential employer, use Teal's Skills Database in the free  Skills Workbook  to identify your current skills and potential skills that you want to acquire. Once you've identified those, enter them into Teal's Skills Identifier.

As a student

Even if you're still in school, there's plenty of information you can include in your bio, like: 

  • What university, trade school, or bootcamp you're attending
  • Your area of study or intended major
  • Any clubs, teams, volunteering, or other extracurriculars you're a part of 
  • Any internships you've completed
  • Your career goals 
  • Your availability

‍As someone starting their career journey, make sure you know what interests you and what will make you excited to go to work each day. We have a tool, the  Interests Workbook , to help you map out the things you're excited about and apply those insights to your job search.

How to write a short professional bio

If you're ready to begin writing your professional bio, we commend you. We've listed a few things here that you might find helpful to consider, but again, there is no steadfast formula. You can feel free to follow or ignore these suggestions however you see fit. 

Choose your voice

You have the option to write your bio using either first or third person. When using first person, you will be utilizing the pronouns "I, me, and my". When using third person, you would refer to yourself using your name and preferred pronouns.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. However, as a general rule, using third person is typically considered more formal, while using first person is more casual.

First person example: "I am a bestselling author. My work has been published in XYZ publication."

Third person example: "Zane Smith is a bestselling author. His work has been published in XYZ publication."

If you want to have multiple versions of the same bio on hand, like a first person version and a third person version, our tools are designed to make this easy for you. Write as many versions of your bio as you need and rotate which one you use in which situation as your career evolves. 

Generate your professional bio with AI

You can also use our AI Resume Builder to generate multiple versions of your short professional bio. Your bio will be tailored based on the details and achievements you've included about your recent work experiences.

Try it yourself for free.

Choose your tone

Written words, like spoken speech, can embody many different moods and tones. Depending on the context and your  personal brand , you might decide your bio should sound more buttoned-up, or more relaxed, or even a little bit silly. 

These two sentences describe the same person but showcase very different tones and writing style: 

“A recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Sally is currently a consultant at XYZ Consulting based out of their New York office.” 

“A recent UPenn grad, Sally swore off econ after years of hard classes only to end up as a consultant at a major firm — but don't worry, she loves it.” 

Start with your name and your current or most recent role

This is not a hard and fast rule, but to get your bio started, it's usually easiest to start with your name and current professional title or role. 

Example:  “Zane Smith is currently the Demand Generation Manager at ABC Tech Company.” 

If you're transitioning between roles or switching industries , you can list your most recent role and use your first sentence to say what you're looking to become.

Example 1:  “Previously the Demand Generation Manager at ABC Tech Company, Zane Smith is actively pursuing new opportunities in marketing management.” 

Example 2 : “Previously the Demand Generation Manager at ABC Tech Company, Zane Smith is now an aspiring 2nd grade teacher.” 

Add any former titles and list relevant achievements

Once you've introduced yourself and your current title or aspirations, you can flow into your professional background, former job titles, and what you did previously. Together, the first two sentences of your bio could read something like this: 

“Zane Smith is currently the Demand Generation Manager at ABC Tech Company. Previously, he was a Marketing Specialist at FGH Tech Company where he grew paid traffic to their website by 500% year over year.” 

How can you ensure your bullet point achievements reflect your qualifications? In addition to using Teal's free Achievement Assistant tool within the AI Resume Builder , try leveraging ChatGPT for this part of the process. Just remember to copy and paste ChatGPT-generated resume achievements back into your AI Resume Builder.

Remember to personalize your bullet point achievements by proofreading and editing them, tweaking as needed using the Achievement Assistant tool.

Consider adding the “why” behind your story

Self-promotion can feel incredibly uncomfortable, but it's important to really make sure you don't undermine your own value. Your “why,” the  reason that you do what you do everyday , can be powerful and meaningful. Adding what gives you the spark to start each workday can set your own professional bio apart from others. 

Example:  “Claire was inspired to pursue a career in elder law after volunteering in a nursing home throughout high school and college.” 

Close with some personal details, if appropriate

Even though your bio will be used in a professional capacity, it's okay to list a few personal details. We're more than just our jobs, and adding a few personal facts can help illustrate who you are outside of the office. 

Example:  “When he's not working, Martin can be found tending to his spice garden and going on nature walks with his golden retriever.” 

Short professional bio do's and don'ts 

Even though there are no official rules for writing a bio, there are still some things you should try to strive for as well as steer clear of if you want to make the best possible impression. 

Be real:  Your bio is not the place to fudge the truth about who you are. Be honest about what you've done and where you're heading. Not telling the truth could bar you from achieving your goals and land you in hot water. 

Be concise:  We really hate to be the one to tell you this, but unfortunately, most people do not have the time or patience to read a five-paragraph essay about your life story. Sorry to break it to you! 

Try to keep things brief and avoid run-on sentences. We recommend running your bio through a  free clarity reader grammar-checking tool  to make sure your bio isn't too wordy or hard to understand. 

Be relatable:  No matter how lofty your accomplishments are, staying grounded may help you establish stronger connections with others. This is where adding personal details and highlighting your personal brand can serve you well. Whether that's with a  hobby, interest , or other role outside of work, being relatable can let others understand and get to know you better and determine if you would be a good fit for a company.  

Don't: 

Be arrogant:  It's both appropriate and expected for you to talk about your professional skills and accomplishments in your short bio. That being said, there's a fine line between talking about your achievements and sounding too braggy. These two examples talk about the same accomplishment but come across very differently: 

“An accomplished pianist, Ryan was selected out of nearly 7,000 applicants to perform at the annual New York State School Music Association festival last spring.” 

“An accomplished pianist, Ryan was the obvious choice to perform at the annual New York State School Music Association festival last spring (because he's the best).” 

Be spiteful:  This is especially relevant if you're revising your bio  after a lay-off  or termination. As tempting as it might be, avoid making any negative statements or accusations in your bio. Positivity and a good attitude will get you much further.

Short professional bio examples

Seeing real professional bios in the wild might help you craft your bio more so than a set of guidelines will. For that reason, we rounded up four real-life short bio examples on different platforms that you can draw further inspiration from. 

Personal website bio: Audree Kate Lopez

"AUDREE KATE LOPEZ IS A FASHION STYLIST, EDITOR, INDUSTRY EXPERT AND INFLUENCER BASED IN NEW YORK. Audree began her professional career in the fashion departments at Glamour, O, the Oprah Magazine, Editorialist and Redbook magazines. She launched Audree Kate Studios in 2017 and worked on freelance projects at Marc Jacobs, Alice + Olivia, J.Crew and Club Monaco, joined the styling team at Alice + Olivia and became a contributing fashion editor for StyleCaster.com. Over the past few years Audree has styled for various publications, celebrities and retail brands. In 2016, Audree founded a digital course and community for fashion students called Fashion Fundamentals and has hosted workshops and classes around the country, and wrote an ebook titled Fashion Fundamentals."

Why we picked it:  Audree's professional bio does a great job at telling and humbling her story. Taking her career from her dorm room all the way to major magazines is impressive and gives readers the right impression that she's ambitious and driven. It also gives a strong overview of all of the different yet relevant accomplishments she's checked off, ranging from styling, to editing, to creating her own course. 

biography on sentence

LinkedIn bio: Christen Nino De Guzman 

"Latina creator. Speaker. Tech Mentor. Christen is the Founder of the newly launched app Clara, a community that empowers creators through transparency, brand reviews, and discoverability. An industry vet, Christen has almost a decade of experience working with top content creators at social networking companies such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. She is a motivational speaker and mentor in the tech space who is passionate about helping people break into the industry through career advice and actionable content."

Why we picked it:  Christen's professional bio is punchy, concise, and gives her credibility. The short few sentences at the very beginning are a creative and clever way to describe who she is right off the bat. She also mentions how many years of experience she has, which at this stage in her career, is a wise move and shows that she brings a high level of expertise to her pursuits. The decision to put her social media profiles makes sense and feels true to her, given her engaged following. 

biography on sentence

Twitter bio: Dulma 

"Founder of Makelane, a private community for female DTC founders. 70K followers on TikTok where I analyze consumer brands"

Why we picked it:  Twitter only gives you 160 characters for your bio, truly keeping it a short bio, but Dulma does an excellent job maximizing what little space is given. Dulma's professional bio clearly and succinctly states her two main pursuits: being a founder of an online community and creating content for a large audience on TikTok. 

biography on sentence

Company website bios: Teachable

"Meet our wonderful team We're a tight-knit group of curious creatures, always learning, and constantly seeking out new perspectives and ideas. Get to know our team—they're what makes Teachable, well, Teachable."

Why we picked it : Having a short professional bio on a company website can be beneficial for many reasons. Each of the four bios featured on Teachable's company site show individuality and make the company more relatable to customers or clients. It provides an opportunity for the individual to showcase their experience, skills, and achievements, which can help build trust and confidence in potential clients or customers. These bios, with full names and pictures, allow the reader to learn more about the individual's expertise and background and can encourage networking opportunities.

biography on sentence

Short professional bio templates

If you prefer to plug and play or need a professional bio in a pinch, don't worry, we've still got you. Here are three short bio templates to get you started:

Short professional bio template for working professionals

[First name last name]  is  [currently/formerly]  a  [insert most recent job title]  at  [most recent company name] . A proud graduate of  [school or university] , they were inspired to pursue a career in  [field]  after  [explain what led to your decision to work in your industry] . Prior to working at [most recent job title], they were the  [previous title]  at  [previous company]  where they were responsible for  [insert professional accomplishments here] . In their free time, they can be found  [insert your favorite hobbies] . 

Short professional bio template for students

[First name last name]  is a current  [year]  at  [institution]  majoring in  [area(s) of study] . On campus,  [First name]  is actively involved in  [activity name] , for which they  [insert details about what you do for the activity you're involved in] . They most recently  [interned/worked]  at  [organization name] , where they had the opportunity to  [insert details about what you did on the job] . They intend to work in the  [insert field name or industry]  after graduation to follow their passion of  [insert what you are passionate about] . In their spare time, they can be found  [insert your favorite hobbies] . 

Short professional bio template for someone with a gap in employment

[First name last name] is a [position/job title] with [number] years of experience in [specific skills or industry] . Following [briefly mention the reason for the employment gap] , [he/she/they] took some time off to focus on [briefly mention what they did during the gap, e.g., personal development, family obligations, health reasons] . During this time, [he/she/they] also [briefly mention any relevant skills or achievements acquired during the gap] . [Name] is now eager to return to the workforce and is excited to bring [specific skills/accomplishments] to [his/her/their] next role. With a proven track record of [list specific achievements or skills] , [Name] is confident in [his/her/their] ability to contribute to [specific industry/profession] and make an impact in [his/her/their] next position.

If you decide to use any of these templates, we strongly recommend you tweak it ever-so-slightly. We don't mean diving into creative writing and rewriting it entirely; just add a little bit of personal flair once you've finished plugging your details in. Add some adjectives, remove anything that doesn't quite fit with your vibe or experiences, or append some more personal details as you see fit. Feel free to work off of any one of the bios from our resume examples to get feel for how different styles can be used across roles.

Remember, as cheesy as it sounds, there's only one you. Even if you use a template, your bio should still have a small sprinkle of personal flair, if possible. 

Create your professional bio with Teal

Crafting a professional bio that effectively showcases your unique skills and accomplishments can be a challenging task. It's important to keep in mind that your bio should be concise and focused on the most relevant details of your career. If you're struggling with what to include, consider starting with the basics and keeping it simple and factual.

Remember, your bio can evolve over time along with your career, so don't be afraid to make updates as you gain more experience and achieve new accomplishments. By taking these steps, you can create a friendly and professional bio that effectively represents your personal brand.

Ready to create a full set of professional bios to get to your next career goal faster? Sign up to start using the AI Resume Builder to generate professional your professional bios directly within the platform.

Once you have your professional bio, don't forget to use Teal's free AI Resume Builder  to update your resume with your skills, latest experience, and work achievements! The job of your resume is to get you in the door. Optimizing it will help you land interviews for the next opportunities that excite you.

Use the AI integration feature within Teal's AI Resume Builder to generate achievements. To get quality, metric-driven achievements, make sure to attach a job description to incorporate relevant keywords.

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How to Write an Interesting Biography

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  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

A biography is a written account of the series of events that make up a person's life. Some of those events are going to be pretty boring, so you'll need to try to make your account as interesting as possible!

Every student will write a biography at some point, but the level of detail and sophistication will differ. A fourth grade biography will be much different from a middle school-level biography or a high school or college-level biography.

However, each biography will include the basic details. The first information you should gather in your research will include biographical details and facts. You must use a trustworthy resource to ensure that your information is accurate.

Using research note cards , collect the following data, carefully recording the source for each piece of information:

Including Basic Details

  • Date and place of birth and death
  • Family information
  • Lifetime accomplishments
  • Major events of life
  • Effects/impact on society, historical significance

While this information is necessary to your project, these dry facts, on their own, don't really make a very good biography. Once you've found these basics, you'll want to dig a little deeper.

You choose a certain person because you think he or she is interesting, so you certainly don't want to burden your paper with an inventory of boring facts. Your goal is to impress your reader!

Start off with great first sentence . It's a good idea to begin with a really interesting statement, a little-known fact, or really intriguing event.

You should avoid starting out with a standard but boring line like:

"Meriwether Lewis was born in Virginia in 1774."

Instead, try starting with something like this:

"Late one afternoon in October, 1809, Meriwether Lewis arrived at a small log cabin nestled deep in the Tennessee Mountains. By sunrise on the following day, he was dead, having suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

You'll have to make sure your beginning is motivating, but it should also be relevant. The next sentence or two should lead into your thesis statement , or main message of your biography.

"It was a tragic end to a life that had so deeply affected the course of history in the United States. Meriwether Lewis, a driven and often tormented soul, led an expedition of discovery that expanded a young nation's economic potential, increased its scientific understanding, and enhanced its worldwide reputation."

Now that you've created an impressive beginning , you'll want to continue the flow. Find more intriguing details about the man and his work, and weave them into the composition.

Examples of Interesting Details:

  • Some people believed that Lewis and Clark would encounter elephants in the western wilderness, having misunderstood the wooly mammoth bones discovered in the United States.
  • The expedition resulted in the discovery and description of 122 new animal species and subspecies.
  • Lewis was a hypochondriac.
  • His death is still an unsolved mystery, although it was ruled a suicide.

You can find interesting facts by consulting diverse sources.

Fill the body of your biography with material that gives insight into your subject's personality. For instance, in a biography about Meriwether Lewis, you would ask what traits or events motivated him to embark on such a monumental exercise.

Questions to Consider in Your Biography:

  • Was there something in your subject's childhood that shaped his/her personality?
  • Was there a personality trait that drove him/her to succeed or impeded his progress?
  • What adjectives would you use to describe him/her?
  • What were some turning points in this life?
  • What was his/her impact on history?

Be sure to use transitional phrases and words to link your paragraphs and make your composition paragraphs flow . It is normal for good writers to re-arrange their sentences to create a better paper.

The final paragraph will summarize your main points and re-assert your main claim about your subject. It should point out your main points, re-name the person you're writing about, but it should not repeat specific examples.

As always, proofread your paper and check for errors. Create a bibliography and title page according to your teacher's instructions. Consult a style guide for proper documentation.

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How to write a professional bio (with examples and templates)

  • Rebecca Strehlow
  • Nov 13, 2023
  • 11 min read

How to write a bio

Which three words would you use to describe yourself? Most of us have been asked this question, and many of us have fumbled through it awkwardly.

Coming up with a personal description can be daunting. But there are times when it’s essential - whether we’re updating our LinkedIn profiles, blogging for Medium or creating a business website of our own.

In this post, we’ll go over how to write a bio, step by step. To help guide you, we’ve also included a handy template, along with some professional bio examples for your inspiration. With these resources, you’ll find that writing a bio, as part of making a website , is much easier than you might think.

What is a bio?

Before you learn how to write a bio, you should have a clear understanding of what it is and why you need it.

In the world of literature, a personal biography can span the length of an entire novel, like Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom or Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala . In the online world, however, a bio is a short paragraph in which you introduce yourself. Typically, people place bios on the About Us page of their professional website, as well as on their social media pages and other networking platforms.

What to include in a bio

Depending on your audience and goals, your bio can highlight your personal interests, your professional achievements or a mix of both. Here are some of the elements a bio might include:

Job title or workplace

University degree and other qualifications

Hometown or city of residence

Personal or professional goals

Mission statement and values

Skills and expertise

Interests and hobbies

The goal of writing a bio is to provide people with a snapshot of who you are. This is important for a variety of reasons, whether it’s drawing people toward your personal website or promoting your blog, attracting clients and business partners to your brand, or highlighting your achievements for job interviews.

How to write a short bio

The most effective online bios are both professional and concise. Here’s how to write a short professional bio that suits your website or brand:

Introduce yourself

State your company or brand name

Explain your professional role

Include professional achievements

Discuss your passions and values

Mention your personal interests

01. Introduce yourself

Begin your bio by stating your first and last name. If you’re writing in the third person, these should be the first two words of the paragraph. This makes your name easy for your audience to identify and remember. Your bio is a huge part of your personal branding efforts, and should start with a strong intro to make a positive impact.

02. State your company or brand name

Think about whether you want your bio to represent yourself on a personal level, or whether you’d like it to come across as more professional. If you have a personal brand or business - for example, a blog, freelance business or eCommerce site - be sure to mention your brand name at the beginning of your bio. Don’t be afraid if the name sounds simple or redundant. It’s perfectly fine, for instance, to say Mary Smith is the founder and CEO of Smith Digital.

Likewise, feel free to mention the name of another company or brand that you work for if you’d like to associate it with your professional accomplishments - e.g., Mary Smith is a consultant at Google and the founder and CEO of Smith Digital.

03. Explain your professional role

Next, briefly explain your current position. This is relevant whether you’re the founder of a company, a high-level specialist or a beginner in your field, and it can be similar to the description you have on your resume. Your website visitors won’t necessarily know what your job involves, so elaborating on your primary responsibilities helps paint a picture of who you are and what you have to offer. This can also be used, if needed for employment and recruitment opportunities. If you're a freelancer a strong bio can make all the difference in how successful sourcing work can be.

Green image with peach squares that say "be concise" plus lavender circles that say "Know your audience" and "Bio".

04. Include professional achievements

In addition to explaining what your job entails, highlight milestones that make you stand out. Even if you haven’t won an award or gained external recognition, you can discuss ways in which you’ve contributed to your professional role and touch on new ideas or approaches that you bring to the table.

05. Discuss your passions and values

Once you describe what you do and how you contribute to your role, you’ll need to explain the why . This is one of the most important elements to focus on as you consider how to write a bio.

Think about the values and passions underlying your work, as well as your professional philosophy. What gets you up in the morning? What’s the driving force behind what you do?

You can also think of this part of your professional bio as a kind of mission statement. Perhaps your mission is to serve others, contribute to society, grow your expertise or learn new skills. Whatever your reasons, expanding upon these ideas can help your audience get a better understanding of what truly matters to you. Don't be afraid to deploy storytelling in this part of creating your bio. Explore your narrative and then convey it.

06. Mention your personal interests

The most effective short bios will not only focus on your professional experience, but will also touch on what you like to do in your spare time. Consider mentioning:

Your family

Your hometown

Your hobbies

Side projects you’re working on

Transitioning to a more casual discussion of who you are outside of work is a great way to conclude your bio. This will present you as a more well-rounded person while making you relatable for your audience.

Professional bio template

As you go through the steps on how to write a bio, this handy template will help you get started:

Sentence 1: [Name] is a [job title] who [job description].

E.g., Lisa Green is an English teacher who teaches beginning to advanced literature courses for 10th and 11th grade students at Bloomfield High School.

Sentence 2: [Name] believes that [why you do the work you do].

E.g., Lisa believes that written and analytical skills are not only a fundamental part of academic excellence, but are also the building blocks of critical thinking in high school and beyond.

Sentence 3: [Name/pronoun] has [mention your achievements].

E.g., In addition to managing the English curriculum for the school, she runs an after school program where she works one-on-one with students.

Sentence 4: [Name/pronoun] is a [mention any relevant awards, training or honors].

E.g., She has also been nominated Teacher of the Year for two consecutive years.

Sentence 5: [Name/pronoun] holds a [insert degree] in [field of study] from [university].

E.g., Lisa holds a BA in Creative Writing and a Master’s Degree in Teaching from the University of Michigan.

Once you’ve filled in this template, put it all together into a single paragraph to create an initial framework for your professional biography. Note that you can shorten or expand upon this bio according to your unique needs.

A professional bio template graphic that says [name] is a [job title] who [job description]. [Name] has [Academic Qualifications] from [University]...

Professional bio examples

Now that you know the basics of writing a professional bio, here are some short bio examples to inspire you. You can use these examples as additional templates for guidance as you craft your own personal biography.

Like the creators of these examples, you can place your bio on your personal or professional website and, later, revise the structure for other online platforms.

01. Bristol Guitar Making School

Professional bio examples: Bristol Guitar Making School

Of all the professional bio examples, Alex Bishop’s content exudes passion. Strategically placing the bio on the About page of his small business website , he highlights his skills and explains why he finds his work meaningful. In particular, we love his description of why he chose to pursue guitar making:

“​My passion as a guitar maker comes from a life-long obsession with making things. From a young age I have always tried to manipulate objects and materials in order to create something entirely different. I find that working with wood is a way for me to connect with nature. The simple act of shaping wood to make something functional or beautiful brings me endless satisfaction.”

He also lists his accomplishments and awards, adding credibility to his business and building trust among prospective clients.

02. Alexandra Zsigmond

Professional bio examples: Alexandra Zsigmond

As someone who has served as art director for both The New York Times' opinion section and The New Yorker , it's no surprise that Alexandra Zsigmond's bio is thorough and detailed. Providing statistics or reflections on the things she achieved in her career is a clever way to demonstrate her value without saying so directly. As she explains:

"She has collaborated with a roster of over 1000 artists worldwide and art directed over 4000 editorial illustrations. She is known for greatly expanding the range of visual contributors to the Times, drawing equally from the worlds of contemporary illustration, fine art, animation, and comics."

03. Amanda Shields Interiors

Professional bio examples: Amanda Shields Interiors

Amanda Shields provides us with another effective bio example on her interior design website. Importantly, she spices up her bio by explaining how home decor aligns with her personal life and why it’s so close to her heart as a mother and entrepreneur:

"After working as a product designer for numerous retailers over the years, and after I had my first child, I decided to take the plunge and start my own home staging business…. Coincidentally, a month later I discovered I was pregnant with my second child. I loved the new challenges I faced as a new entrepreneur and mom and it didn't take long for me to discover that this was my calling…. I felt the need to expand my business and launch Amanda Shields Interiors as its own entity to focus specifically on residential interiors and design."

By placing this content on her website’s About page, she provides potential clients with insights into her expertise and professional experience. She expands upon the choices she made along her career path, strategically making note of her achievements and acquired skills along the way.

Tips for writing a bio

As you write your bio using the professional template above, make sure to keep the following tips in mind:

Keep it concise: Your bio should be sufficiently explanatory, but it should also be short and to the point. A good rule of thumb is to keep each element of your bio - from your job description to your mission statement and hobbies - to about 1-2 sentences. That way, you’ll end up with a brief paragraph that holds your readers’ attention without rambling on.

Consider your audience: The voice and tone you choose for your biography largely depends on your audience and personal goals. If you’re looking for a job and are writing primarily for recruiters, you’ll want to use a serious, professional tone. On the other hand, if you’re creating an Instagram bio , consider using more casual, conversational language that reflects your personality.

Add humor: Relatedly, consider adding humor when appropriate. This is especially valuable if you’ve founded your own business or created your own website , as it can give you a distinct brand identity while helping your audience build a stronger sense of connection with your brand.

Link to your website: When writing a bio for a platform other than your own website - a social media page, another company page, or a guest blog or publication - remember to include a link to your website. This will help you promote your website while highlighting your professionalism and authority.

Adapt for different platforms: You’ll most likely need to adapt the length and writing style of your biography to suit different platforms. For example, you may place a longer bio on your website’s About page and a shorter one on your LinkedIn page. In these cases, use the same main principles for writing a bio while scaling down the most important elements.

By following these tips, you can create a powerful bio that helps you stand out in your field and allows your audience to get to know you better.

How to write a bio in four sentences or less

Really need to create a super short bio? We'd suggest following some of the tips above, just condensing them into less word for a short bio that still makes impact.

But if we really had to choose we'd say focus on - you, your professional role and company. That condenses everything that matters for bio into three sentences. Humor, creativity and uniqueness still all matter just use less words to convey them.

Creating a bio for your website

As we’ve noted in the examples above, one of the most strategic places to put your bio is on your website - so be sure to consider it within your web design plans. Whether the goal of your site is to start and promote your business , showcase your design portfolio or display your resume, including a bio gives your audience a glimpse into the person behind your content. It can also kickstart your professional growth . Show the world what you do, how you do it and why it matters, and people will be drawn to your passion and inspired by your experience.

Pro tip: You can add a bio to many different types of websites, so using templates can help you create yours faster. For example, if you're creating a portfolio website , explore portfolio website templates to help you get started.

Creating a bio for social media

Crafting a professional bio for social media is vital as it introduces you or your brand, and it builds credibility and trust. A well-written bio establishes your expertise, attracts the right audience, and fosters engagement. It helps maintain a consistent brand image, optimizes search and discovery, and opens doors to networking and career opportunities. A compelling bio delivers a concise, informative snapshot of who you are, what you do, and the value you bring, leaving a lasting impression on visitors and potential collaborators alike.

You may need to edit your bio depending on which social media platform you plan to use it on. Some of the most popular ones include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Focus on getting your bio right on the platforms you plan to focus your personal or brand social media marketing efforts on.

Writing a bio with AI

If you're looking to write your bio fast while creating your website, consider using an AI text generator to build your draft. You'll still need to make sure it goes through. an intensive editing process, so that it really captures the essence of who you are and your professional skills. A bio is about much more than just basic information, so don't forget to include the storytelling too. Build a website with Wix and you can make use of the in-built AI text generator within its Editor .

Why good bios are important for a professional

A well-written bio is an essential tool for any professional. It serves as a concise and informative introduction, highlighting your skills, experience and accomplishments. A strong bio can effectively showcase your expertise, attract potential employers or collaborators and establish your credibility in your field.

Here's why a good bio is important for a professional:

Creates a positive first impression: A well-written bio is often the first thing someone will read about you, whether it's a potential employer, client or collaborator. A strong bio will make a positive first impression and pique their interest in learning more about you.

Highlights your skills and experience: A good bio allows you to succinctly summarize your key skills, experience and accomplishments. It's an opportunity to showcase your expertise and demonstrate your value to potential employers or collaborators.

Establishes credibility: A professional bio that is well-written and free of errors conveys credibility and professionalism. It shows that you take yourself and your career seriously and that you are someone they can trust.

Attracts opportunities: A strong bio can help you attract new opportunities, whether it's a job interview, a project collaboration or a speaking engagement. A well-crafted bio can make you stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of being noticed.

Builds your professional brand: Your bio is a key component of your professional brand. It should reflect your personality, values and aspirations, and it should be consistent with your overall online presence.

Networking tool: A well-written bio can serve as an effective networking tool. It can help you connect with potential employers, clients or collaborators who share your interests or expertise.

Demonstrates continuous learning: A bio that is regularly updated to reflect your latest skills, experience and accomplishments shows that you are committed to continuous learning and professional development.

Showcases your communication skills: A well-written bio demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively in a concise and engaging manner. It shows that you can articulate your thoughts and ideas clearly and professionally.

Personalizes your job search: When applying for jobs, tailoring your bio to each specific position can increase your chances of getting noticed. Highlight the skills and experience that are most relevant to the job you are seeking.

Builds confidence: Having a strong bio that you are proud of can boost your confidence and make you feel more prepared to take on new challenges and opportunities.

How to write a bio FAQ

What is a short bio.

A short bio, short for biography, is a concise summary of a your life or professional background. It provides a brief overview of your key achievements, qualifications, experiences, and relevant details. Typically written in the third person, a short bio is often used in various contexts, such as professional profiles, social media accounts, introductions for speaking engagements, author descriptions, and other situations where a brief introduction is required. The length of a short bio can vary, but it's generally kept to a few sentences or a short paragraph to provide a snapshot of the person's background and expertise.

How do I write a bio about myself?

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Biography in a Sentence  🔊

Definition of Biography

a person’s life story as told by another person

Examples of Biography in a sentence

It took me years to shape the president’s life story into an engaging biography.  🔊

Since the actress never asked you to write about her rise to stardom, your book isn’t an authorized biography.  🔊

The popular author will recount the singer’s upbringing in a biography.  🔊

In order for the writer to pen my biography, he’ll need to ask me numerous questions about my life.  🔊

Using my grandmother’s diaries, I was able to mesh her stories into a biography.  🔊

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Literacy Ideas

How to Write a Biography

biography on sentence

Biographies are big business. Whether in book form or Hollywood biopics, the lives of the famous and sometimes not-so-famous fascinate us.

While it’s true that most biographies are about people who are in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. Mostly though, famous or not, the person who is written about has led a life that is in some way incredible.

While your students will most likely have a basic understanding of a biography, it’s worth taking a little time before they put pen to paper to tease out a crystal clear definition of a biography.

Visual Writing Prompts

What Is a Biography?

how to write a biography | how to start an autobiography | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Simply put, a biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else . While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.

Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of their childhood right up to the present day or their death if the subject is deceased.

The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.

Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality, and as well as their experience of life.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES

how to write a biography | biography and autobiography writing unit 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .

  • Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
  • Explore the language and perspective of both.
  • Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
  • Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
  • Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
  • A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

What Are the Main Features of a Biography?

Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of the genre. A good way to determine how well they understand these essential elements of the genre is by asking them to compile a checklist.

At a minimum, their checklists should contain the items below. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.

The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Open your biography with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention

SEQUENCING: In most cases, biographies are written in chronological order unless you are a very competent writer consciously trying to break from this trend.

COVER: childhood, upbringing, education, influences, accomplishments, relationships, etc. – everything that helps the reader to understand the person.

CONCLUSION: Wrap your biography up with some details about what the subject is doing now if they are still alive. If they have passed away, make mention of what impact they have made and what their legacy is or will be.

BIOGRAPHY FEATURES

LANGUAGE Use descriptive and figurative language that will paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read. Use time connectives to link events.

PERSPECTIVE Biographies are written from the third person’s perspective.

DETAILS: Give specific details about people, places, events, times, dates, etc. Reflect on how events shaped the subject. You might want to include some relevant photographs with captions. A timeline may also be of use depending upon your subject and what you are trying to convey to your audience.

TENSE Written in the past tense (though ending may shift to the present/future tense)

THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY

Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.

Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.

Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other significant events or contributions. It serves as a map for the writing process, ensuring that all vital information is included.

Your biography should have an engaging introduction that captivates the reader’s attention and provides background information on the person you’re writing about. It should include a thesis statement that summarizes the main points of the biography.

Writing a biography in chronological order is crucial . You should begin with the person’s early life and move through their career and achievements. This approach provides clarity on how the person’s life unfolded and how they accomplished their goals.

A biography should be written in a narrative style , capturing the essence of the person’s life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes. Avoid dry, factual writing and focus on creating a compelling narrative that engages the reader.

Adding personal insights and opinions can enhance the biography’s overall impact, providing a unique perspective on the person’s achievements, legacy, and impact on society.

Editing and proofreading are vital elements of the writing process. Thoroughly reviewing your biography ensures that the writing is clear, concise, and error-free. You can even request feedback from someone else to ensure that it is engaging and well-written.

Finally, including a bibliography at the end of your biography is essential. It gives credit to the sources that were used during research, such as books, articles, interviews, and websites.

Tips for Writing a Brilliant Biography

Biography writing tip #1: choose your subject wisely.

There are several points for students to reflect on when deciding on a subject for their biography. Let’s take a look at the most essential points to consider when deciding on the subject for a biography:

Interest: To produce a biography will require sustained writing from the student. That’s why students must choose their subject well. After all, a biography is an account of someone’s entire life to date. Students must ensure they choose a subject that will sustain their interest throughout the research, writing, and editing processes.

Merit: Closely related to the previous point, students must consider whether the subject merits the reader’s interest. Aside from pure labors of love, writing should be undertaken with the reader in mind. While producing a biography demands sustained writing from the author, it also demands sustained reading from the reader.

Therefore, students should ask themselves if their chosen subject has had a life worthy of the reader’s interest and the time they’d need to invest in reading their biography.

Information: Is there enough information available on the subject to fuel the writing of an entire biography? While it might be a tempting idea to write about a great-great-grandfather’s experience in the war. There would be enough interest there to sustain the author’s and the reader’s interest, but do you have enough access to information about their early childhood to do the subject justice in the form of a biography?

Biography Writing Tip #2: R esearch ! Research! Research!

While the chances are good that the student already knows quite a bit about the subject they’ve chosen. Chances are 100% that they’ll still need to undertake considerable research to write their biography.

As with many types of writing , research is an essential part of the planning process that shouldn’t be overlooked. If a student wishes to give as complete an account of their subject’s life as possible, they’ll need to put in the time at the research stage.

An effective way to approach the research process is to:

1. Compile a chronological timeline of the central facts, dates, and events of the subject’s life

2. Compile detailed descriptions of the following personal traits:

  •      Physical looks
  •      Character traits
  •      Values and beliefs

3. Compile some research questions based on different topics to provide a focus for the research:

  • Childhood : Where and when were they born? Who were their parents? Who were the other family members? What education did they receive?
  • Obstacles: What challenges did they have to overcome? How did these challenges shape them as individuals?
  • Legacy: What impact did this person have on the world and/or the people around them?
  • Dialogue & Quotes: Dialogue and quotations by and about the subject are a great way to bring color and life to a biography. Students should keep an eagle eye out for the gems that hide amid their sources.

As the student gets deeper into their research, new questions will arise that can further fuel the research process and help to shape the direction the biography will ultimately go in.

Likewise, during the research, themes will often begin to suggest themselves. Exploring these themes is essential to bring depth to biography, but we’ll discuss this later in this article.

Research Skills:

Researching for biography writing is an excellent way for students to hone their research skills in general. Developing good research skills is essential for future academic success. Students will have opportunities to learn how to:

  • Gather relevant information
  • Evaluate different information sources
  • Select suitable information
  • Organize information into a text.

Students will have access to print and online information sources, and, in some cases, they may also have access to people who knew or know the subject (e.g. biography of a family member).

These days, much of the research will likely take place online. It’s crucial, therefore, to provide your students with guidance on how to use the internet safely and evaluate online sources for reliability. This is the era of ‘ fake news ’ and misinformation after all!

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

how to write a biography | research skills 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip #3: Find Your Themes In Biography Writing

Though predominantly a nonfiction genre, the story still plays a significant role in good biography writing. The skills of characterization and plot structuring are transferable here. And, just like in fiction, exploring themes in a biographical work helps connect the personal to the universal. Of course, these shouldn’t be forced; this will make the work seem contrived, and the reader may lose faith in the truthfulness of the account. A biographer needs to gain and maintain the trust of the reader.

Fortunately, themes shouldn’t need to be forced. A life well-lived is full of meaning, and the themes the student writer is looking for will emerge effortlessly from the actions and events of the subject’s life. It’s just a case of learning how to spot them.

One way to identify the themes in a life is to look for recurring events or situations in a person’s life. These should be apparent from the research completed previously. The students should seek to identify these patterns that emerge in the subject’s life. For example, perhaps they’ve had to overcome various obstacles throughout different periods of their life. In that case, the theme of overcoming adversity is present and has been identified.

Usually, a biography has several themes running throughout, so be sure your students work to identify more than one theme in their subject’s life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip: #4 Put Something of Yourself into the Writing

While the defining feature of a biography is that it gives an account of a person’s life, students must understand that this is not all a biography does. Relating the facts and details of a subject’s life is not enough. The student biographer should not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings with the reader throughout their account of their subject’s life.

The student can weave some of their personality into the fabric of the text by providing commentary and opinion as they relate the events of the person’s life and the wider social context at the time. Unlike the detached and objective approach we’d expect to find in a history textbook, in a biography, student-writers should communicate their enthusiasm for their subject in their writing.

This makes for a more intimate experience for the reader, as they get a sense of getting to know the author and the subject they are writing about.

Student Examples of Biography Writing

  • Year 5 Example
  • Year 7 Example
  • Year 9 Example

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll King: Elvis Presley”

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8, 1935, was an amazing singer and actor known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years, I can’t help but be fascinated by his incredible life!

Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny house with his parents and twin brother. His family didn’t have much money, but they shared a love for music. Little did they know Elvis would become a music legend!

When he was only 11 years old, Elvis got his first guitar. He taught himself to play and loved singing gospel songs. As he got older, he started combining different music styles like country, blues, and gospel to create a whole new sound – that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!

In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s All Right.” People couldn’t believe how unique and exciting his music was. His famous hip-swinging dance moves also made him a sensation!

Elvis didn’t just rock the music scene; he also starred in movies like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.” But fame came with challenges. Despite facing ups and downs, Elvis kept spreading happiness through his music.

how to write a biography | A4H32CWFYQ72GPUNCIRTS5Y7P4 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Tragically, Elvis passed away in 1977, but his music and charisma live on. Even today, people worldwide still enjoy his songs like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley’s legacy as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will live forever.

Long Live the King: I wish I’d seen him.

Elvis Presley, the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend born on January 8, 1935, is a captivating figure that even a modern-day teen like me can’t help but admire. As I delve into his life, I wish I could have experienced the magic of his live performances.

Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis faced challenges but found solace in music. At 11, he got his first guitar, a symbol of his journey into the world of sound. His fusion of gospel, country, and blues into Rock ‘n’ Roll became a cultural phenomenon.

The thought of being in the audience during his early performances, especially when he recorded “That’s All Right” at 19, sends shivers down my spine. Imagining the crowd’s uproar and feeling the revolutionary energy of that moment is a dream I wish I could have lived.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical prodigy; he was a dynamic performer. His dance moves, the embodiment of rebellion, and his roles in films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock” made him a true icon.

After watching him on YouTube, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I’ll never witness the King’s live performances. The idea of swaying to “Hound Dog” or being enchanted by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in person is a missed opportunity. Elvis may have left us in 1977, but he was the king of rock n’ roll. Long live the King!

Elvis Presley: A Teen’s Take on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon”

Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, was a revolutionary force in the music world, earning his title as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Exploring his life, even as a 16-year-old today, I’m captivated by the impact he made.

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew up in humble beginnings, surrounded by the love of his parents and twin brother. It’s inspiring to think that, despite financial challenges, this young man would redefine the music scene.

At 11, Elvis got his first guitar, sparking a self-taught journey into music. His early gospel influences evolved into a unique fusion of country, blues, and gospel, creating the electrifying genre of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In 1954, at only 19, he recorded “That’s All Right,” marking the birth of a musical legend.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical innovator; he was a cultural phenomenon. His rebellious dance moves and magnetic stage presence challenged the norms. He transitioned seamlessly into acting, starring in iconic films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

how to write a biography | Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

However, fame came at a cost, and Elvis faced personal struggles. Despite the challenges, his music continued to resonate. Even now, classics like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” transcend generations.

Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is undeniable. He was known for his unique voice, charismatic persona, and electrifying performances. He sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis’s influence can still be seen in today’s music. Many contemporary artists, such as Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake, have cited Elvis as an inspiration. His music continues to be featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Elvis left us in 1977, but his legacy lives on. I appreciate his breaking barriers and fearlessly embracing his artistic vision. Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is timeless, a testament to the enduring power of his artistry. His music has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

how to write a biography | LITERACY IDEAS FRONT PAGE 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING TEACHING IDEAS AND LESSONS

We have compiled a sequence of biography-related lessons or teaching ideas that you can follow as you please. They are straightforward enough for most students to follow without further instruction.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 1:

This session aims to give students a broader understanding of what makes a good biography.

Once your students have compiled a comprehensive checklist of the main features of a biography, allow them to use it to assess some biographies from your school library or on the internet using the feature checklist.

When students have assessed a selection of biographies, take some time as a class to discuss them. You can base the discussion around the following prompts:

  • Which biographies covered all the criteria from their checklist?
  • Which biographies didn’t?
  • Which biography was the most readable in terms of structure?
  • Which biography do you think was the least well-structured? How would you improve this?

Looking at how other writers have interpreted the form will help students internalize the necessary criteria before attempting to produce a biography. Once students have a clear understanding of the main features of the biography, they’re ready to begin work on writing a biography.

When the time does come to put pen to paper, be sure they’re armed with the following top tips to help ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 2:

This session aims to guide students through the process of selecting the perfect biography subject.

Instruct students to draw up a shortlist of three potential subjects for the biography they’ll write.

Using the three criteria mentioned in the writing guide (Interest, Merit, and Information), students award each potential subject a mark out of 5 for each of the criteria. In this manner, students can select the most suitable subject for their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 3:

This session aims to get students into the researching phase and then prioritise events and organise them chronologically.

Students begin by making a timeline of their subject’s life, starting with their birth and ending with their death or the present day. If the student has yet to make a final decision on the subject of their biography, a family member will often serve well for this exercise as a practice exercise.

Students should research and gather the key events of the person’s life, covering each period of their life from when they were a baby, through childhood and adolescence, right up to adulthood and old age. They should then organize these onto a timeline. Students can include photographs with captions if they have them.

They can present these to the class when they have finished their timelines.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 4:

Instruct students to look over their timeline, notes, and other research. Challenge them to identify three patterns that repeat throughout the subject’s life and sort all the related events and incidents into specific categories.

Students should then label each category with a single word. This is the thematic concept or the broad general underlying idea. After that, students should write a sentence or two expressing what the subject’s life ‘says’ about that concept.

This is known as the thematic statement . With the thematic concepts and thematic statements identified, the student now has some substantial ideas to explore that will help bring more profound meaning and wider resonance to their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 5:

Instruct students to write a short objective account of an event in their own life. They can write about anyone from their past. It needn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs, but the writing should be strictly factual, focusing only on the objective details of what happened.

Once they have completed this, it’s time to rewrite the paragraph, but they should include some opinion and personal commentary this time.

The student here aims to inject some color and personality into their writing, to transform a detached, factual account into a warm, engaging story.

Biography Graphic Organizer

Get our FREE Biography Writing Graphic Organizer

Use this valuable tool in the research and writing phases to keep your students on track and engaged.

WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

writing checklists

To Conclude

By this stage, your students should have an excellent technical overview of a biography’s essential elements.

They should be able to choose their subject in light of how interesting and worthy they are, as well as give consideration to the availability of information out there. They should be able to research effectively and identify emerging themes in their research notes. And finally, they should be able to bring some of their personality and uniqueness into their retelling of the life of another.

Remember that writing a biography is not only a great way to develop a student’s writing skills; it can be used in almost all curriculum areas. For example, to find out more about a historical figure in History, to investigate scientific contributions to Science, or to celebrate a hero from everyday life.

Biography is an excellent genre for students to develop their writing skills and to find inspiration in the lives of others in the world around them.

HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL VIDEO

how to write a biography | YOUTUBE 1280 x 720 11 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

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The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh.  A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane’s latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing , can be found here.  Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.

Cambridge Dictionary

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Meaning of biography in English

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  • This biography offers a few glimpses of his life before he became famous .
  • Her biography revealed that she was not as rich as everyone thought .
  • The biography was a bit of a rush job .
  • The biography is an attempt to uncover the inner man.
  • The biography is woven from the many accounts which exist of things she did.
  • exercise book
  • novelistically
  • young adult

biography | Intermediate English

  • biographical

Examples of biography

Translations of biography.

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a written account of another person's life: the biography of Byron by Marchand.

an account in biographical form of an organization, society, theater, animal, etc.

such writings collectively.

the writing of biography as an occupation or field of endeavor.

Origin of biography

Words nearby biography.

  • biographical
  • biographize
  • bioindustry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use biography in a sentence

Barrett didn’t say anything on Tuesday to contradict our understanding of her ideological leanings based on her past rulings, past statements and biography .

Republicans, meanwhile, focused mostly on her biography — including her role as a working mother of seven and her Catholic faith — and her credentials, while offering few specifics about her record as a law professor and judge.

She delivered an inspiring biography at one point, reflecting on the sacrifice her mother made to emigrate to the United States.

As Walter Isaacson pointed out in his biography of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin proposed the postal system as a vital network to bond together the 13 disparate colonies.

Serving that end, the book is not an in-depth biography as much as a summary of Galileo’s life and science, plus a thorough recounting of the events leading up to his famous trial.

The Amazon biography for an author named Papa Faal mentions both Gambia and lists a military record that matches the FBI report.

For those unfamiliar with Michals, an annotated biography and useful essays are included.

Did you envision your Pryor biography as extending your previous investigation—aesthetically and historically?

But Stephen Kotkin's new biography reveals a learned despot who acted cunningly to take advantage of the times.

Watching novelists insult one another is one of the primary pleasures of his biography .

He also published two volumes of American biography , a work which his death abridged.

Mme. de Chaulieu gave her husband the three children designated in the duc's biography .

The biography of great men always has been, and always will be read with interest and profit.

I like biography far better than fiction myself: fiction is too free.

The Bookman: "A more entertaining narrative whether in biography or fiction has not appeared in recent years."

British Dictionary definitions for biography

/ ( baɪˈɒɡrəfɪ ) /

an account of a person's life by another

such accounts collectively

Derived forms of biography

  • biographer , noun
  • biographical ( ˌbaɪəˈɡræfɪk ə l ) or archaic biographic , adjective
  • biographically , adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for biography

The story of someone's life. The Life of Samuel Johnson , by James Boswell , and Abraham Lincoln , by Carl Sandburg , are two noted biographies. The story of the writer's own life is an autobiography .

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Definition of biography

Did you know.

So You've Been Asked to Submit a Biography

In a library, the word biography refers both to a kind of book and to a section where books of that kind are found. Each biography tells the story of a real person's life. A biography may be about someone who lived long ago, recently, or even someone who is still living, though in the last case it must necessarily be incomplete. The term autobiography refers to a biography written by the person it's about. Autobiographies are of course also necessarily incomplete.

Sometimes biographies are significantly shorter than a book—something anyone who's been asked to submit a biography for, say, a conference or a community newsletter will be glad to know. Often the word in these contexts is shortened to bio , a term that can be both a synonym of biography and a term for what is actually a biographical sketch: a brief description of a person's life. These kinds of biographies—bios—vary, but many times they are only a few sentences long. Looking at bios that have been used in the same context can be a useful guide in determining what to put in your own.

Examples of biography in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Late Greek biographia , from Greek bi- + -graphia -graphy

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Dictionary Entries Near biography

biographize

Cite this Entry

“Biography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biography. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of biography, more from merriam-webster on biography.

Nglish: Translation of biography for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of biography for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about biography

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Alexei Navalny, galvanizing opposition leader and Putin’s fiercest foe, died in prison, Russia says

Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday, Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47.

FILE - In this handout photo taken from a footage provided by Moscow City Court, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny shows a heard symbol standing in the cage during a hearing to a motion from the Russian prison service to convert the suspended sentence of Navalny from the 2014 criminal conviction into a real prison term in the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Russia's prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)

Video from Thursday showed Navalny making a remote appearance from Kharp at a court in Kovrov. (Feb. 16)

biography on sentence

A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny would be examined by the Federal Penitentiary Service. (Feb. 16)

A woman holds a portrait of opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe, died Friday in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russia's prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Alexei Navalny, a crusader against corruption and staged huge anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died Friday. (Feb 16).

FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 29, 2020. Russia's prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 29, 2020. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

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This photo taken from video released by Russian Federal Penitentiary Service via SOTAVISION shows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears via a video link from the Arctic penal colony in Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, where he is serving a 19-year sentence, in Kovrov, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2024. Shortly after Navalny’s death was reported on Friday Feb. 16, 2024, the Russian SOTA social media channel shared images of the opposition politician reportedly in court yesterday. In the footage, Navalny is seen standing up and is laughing and joking with the judge via video link. (Russian Federal Penitentiary Service via SOTAVISION via AP)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, poses for press as he sits handcuffed in court in Moscow, Russia on March 30, 2017. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia talk in a courtroom before the hearing in Moscow, Russia on April 23, 2015. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

FILE - A view of the entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Alexei Navalny is seen behind the bars in the police van after he was detained during protests in Moscow, on May 8, 2012 a day after Putin’s inauguration. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)

FILE - Police officers detain Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, left, in Moscow on July 10, 2013. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Police officers detain opposition leader Alexei Navalny during an unauthorized rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 15, 2012. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

Police officers detain a man laying flowers to Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (AP Photo)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, attends a rally in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2018. He died in prison Friday, Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with his wife Yulia after his last rally in rain-soaked Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 6, 2013. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media prior to a court session in Moscow, on Aug. 22, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny prepares to speak to journalists outside a courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on March 13, 2013 after his appeal against the country’s top investigative agency was rejected. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, and his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov, foreground, listen to judge in a court in Kirov, Russia, on July 18, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, embraces his wife Yulia, as he was released in a courtroom in Kirov, Russia, on July 19, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who submitted endorsement papers necessary for his registration as a presidential candidate, center, heads to attend a meeting in the Russia’s Central Election commission in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 25, 2017. Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny prepares himself prior his interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny waves from his office window in Moscow, Russia on April 1, 2010. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Alexei Navalny speaks to supporters in Sokolniki park in Moscow, Russia on Aug. 25, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with his wife Yulia, right, daughter Daria, and son Zakhar pose for the media after voting during a city council election in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 8, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of his appeal in a court in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2021 with a mural of the Moscow Kremlin in the background. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 2nd right, addresses supporters and journalists after arriving from Kirov at a railway station in Moscow, Russia on July 20, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his supporters’ meeting that nominated him for the presidential election race in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 24, 2017. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

A U.S. Secret Service uniformed police officer looks at a cardboard sign and flowers left outside the Russian Embassy as a women leaves after placing flowers outside the embassy fence, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, has died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. That’s according to Russia’s prison agency. He was 47. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Russian Embassy sign is seen after being vandalized with a red liquid substance by a passerby wearing a mask, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington. The vandalism happened after Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. He was 47. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

People lay flowers paying their last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

A woman lays flowers paying the last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

People lay flowers as they pay their last respect to Alexei Navalny at the monument to the victims of political repression in the Leninsky kindergarten in Kazan, Russia, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (AP Photo)

Police officers detain a woman who laid flowers to pay her last respect to Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (AP Photo)

Follow the latest updates on this story .

Alexei Navalny , who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died Friday in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47.

The stunning news — less than a month before an election that will give Putin another six years in power — brought renewed criticism and outrage from world leaders toward the Russian president who has suppressed opposition at home.

After initially allowing people to lay flowers at monuments to victims of Soviet-era repressions in several Russian cities, police sealed off some of the areas and started making arrests.

More than 100 people were detained in eight cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don in the south of Russia, according to the OVD-Info monitoring group. Shouts of “Shame!” were heard as Moscow police rounded up more than a dozen people — including one with a sign reading “Killer” — near a memorial to political prisoners, the group said.

But there was no indication Navalny’s death would spark large protests, with the opposition fractured and now without its “guiding star,” as an associate put it.

Daniel Roher and the members of the crew from "Navalny" accept the award for best documentary feature film at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported Navalny felt sick after a walk Friday and lost consciousness at the penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he couldn’t be revived; the cause of death is “being established,” it said.

AP AUDIO: Alexei Navalny, galvanizing opposition leader and Putin’s fiercest foe, died in prison, Russia says.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Navalny had been jailed since January 2021 , when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He was later convicted three times, saying each case was politically motivated.

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with his wife Yulia after his last rally in rain-soaked Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 6, 2013. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

After the last verdict, Navalny said he understood he was “serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime.”

Hours after his death was reported, Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, made a dramatic appearance at a security conference in Germany where many leaders had gathered.

She said she had considered canceling, “but then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And I’m sure he would be here,” adding that she was unsure if she could believe the news from official Russian sources.

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with his wife Yulia, right, daughter Daria, and son Zakhar pose for the media after voting during a city council election in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 8, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov, File)

“But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putin’s friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon,” Navalnaya said.

Praise for Navalny’s bravery poured in from Western leaders and others opposing Putin. Navalny’s health has deteriorated recently and the cause of death may never be known, but many of them said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible — particularly after the deaths of many Kremlin foes.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington doesn’t know exactly what happened, “but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did.”

Navalny “could have lived safely in exile” but returned home despite knowing he could be imprisoned or killed “because he believed so deeply in his country, in Russia.”

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny “has probably now paid for this courage with his life.”

Standing beside Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — whose country is fending off Russia’s invasion — said: “Putin doesn’t care who dies in order for him to hold onto his position.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was told of Navalny’s death. The opposition leader’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the team had no confirmation yet.

Russia’s main state TV channel interrupted its newscast to announce the death, while other broadcasters carried only terse reports.

The Russian SOTA social media channel shared video of Navalny — reportedly in a prison courtroom on Thursday — laughing and joking with the judge via video link on one of several hearings about conditions in jail.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, attends a rally in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2018. He died in prison Friday, Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, File)

Navalny was moved in December from a central Russia penal colony to the “special regime” facility — the maximum security level. His allies decried the transfer to the remote Arctic colony as yet another attempt to isolate and silence Navalny.

Before his arrest, Navalny campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office.

In Putin’s Russia, political activists often faded amid factional disputes or went into exile after imprisonment, suspected poisonings or other repression. But Navalny grew consistently stronger and reached the apex of the opposition through grit, bravado and an acute understanding of how social media could circumvent the Kremlin’s suffocation of independent news outlets.

He faced each setback — whether a physical assault or imprisonment — with intense devotion and sardonic wit. When authorities put Navalny in a tiny cell because of minor infractions — allowing access to a narrow exercise yard only in the early morning — he joked: “Few things are as refreshing as a walk in Yamal at 6:30 in the morning.”

Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol told The Associated Press that Russia’s repressive climate makes any rallies over his death risky, and “people could get long prison terms for taking part in a peaceful protest.”

In the absence of a ”guiding star” like Navalny, she said, “people will have an even greater fear of repressions, seeing the government’s impunity.”

A woman laying flowers for Navalny at a Moscow memorial said he was “the last beacon of hope for anything to change, and that hope died today. So the only thing I want to do now is cry, I have no more words.” She identified herself only by her first name, Elmira, for fear of repression.

Navalny was born in Butyn, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. He received a law degree from People’s Friendship University in 1998 and did a fellowship at Yale in 2010.

He gained attention by focusing on corruption in Russia’s murky mix of politicians and businesses; one of his early moves was buying a stake in oil and gas companies to become an activist shareholder and push for transparency.

His work had pocketbook appeal to Russians’ widespread sense of being cheated, carrying stronger resonance than abstract concerns about democracy and human rights.

He was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement on what he called a politically motivated prosecution and was sentenced to five years in prison, but the prosecutor’s office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal. A higher court later gave him a suspended sentence.

A day before the sentence, Navalny registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The opposition saw his release as the result of large protests over his sentence, but many observers attributed it to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the race.

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, and his former colleague Pyotr Ofitserov, foreground, listen to judge in a court in Kirov, Russia, on July 18, 2013. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

Navalny finished second, an impressive performance against an incumbent who was backed by Putin’s political machine and was popular for improving Moscow’s infrastructure.

Navalny’s acclaim increased after the leading charismatic politician, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in 2015 on a bridge near the Kremlin.

Whenever Putin spoke about Navalny, he made it a point to never utter his name, referring to him as “that person” or similar wording, in an apparent effort to diminish his importance.

In opposition circles, Navalny was often viewed as having an overly nationalist streak for supporting the rights of ethnic Russians — he backed the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Moscow in 2014 although most nations viewed it as illegal — but he was able to mostly override those reservations via investigations conducted by his Fund for Fighting Corruption.

Although state-controlled TV ignored Navalny, his investigations resonated with younger Russians via YouTube and posts on his website and social media accounts. The strategy helped him reach the hinterlands far from the political and cultural centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg and establish a strong network of regional offices.

His work broadened from focusing on corruption to criticism of the political system under Putin. He was a galvanizing figure in protests of unprecedented size against dubious national election results and the exclusion of independent candidates.

Navalny got attention using pithy phrases and a potent image . His description of Putin’s power-base United Russia as “the party of crooks and thieves” gained instant popularity.

In 2017, after an assailant threw green-hued disinfectant in his face, seriously damaging an eye, Navalny joked that people were comparing him to the superhero the Hulk.

Much worse was to come.

While in jail in 2019 for an election protest, he was hospitalized for what authorities called an allergic reaction, but some doctors said it appeared to be poisoning.

FILE - Alexei Navalny is seen behind the bars in the police van after he was detained during protests in Moscow, on May 8, 2012 a day after Putin's inauguration. Russia’s prison agency says that imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. He was 47. The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday Feb. 16, 2024 and lost consciousness. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)

A year later, he fell severely ill on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he spent two days in a hospital before being flown to Germany for treatment.

Doctors there determined he had been poisoned with a strain of Novichok – similar to the nerve agent that nearly killed former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018. Navalny was in a medically induced coma for about two weeks.

The Kremlin vehemently denied it was behind the poisoning, but Navalny challenged that with an audacious move: releasing the recording of a call he said he made to an alleged member of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly carried out the poisoning and then tried to cover it up. The FSB called the recording a fake.

Russian authorities then announced that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of a suspended sentence in one of his convictions and that he would be arrested if he returned home.

Navalny and his wife nevertheless flew to Moscow on Jan. 17, 2021. On arrival, he told waiting journalists he was pleased to be back, walked to passport control and into custody .

Last month, he explained why he returned, saying: “I don’t want to give up either my country or my beliefs.”

Just over two weeks after his return, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2½ years in prison. That sparked massive protests reaching to Russia’s farthest corners and saw police detain over 10,000 people.

As part of a massive opposition crackdown that followed, a Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and about 40 regional offices as extremist, a verdict that exposed members of his team to prosecution.

When Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Navalny strongly condemned it in social media posts from prison and during his court hearings.

Less than a month after the war began, he received another nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he said was fabricated. Last August, he was convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

When a film called “Navalny” about his story won an Academy Award for best documentary in 2023, his wife told the ceremony: “My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy. Alexei, I am dreaming of the day you will be free and our country will be free.”

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son and a daughter.

DASHA LITVINOVA

Special counsel charges FBI informant with lying to the bureau about Hunter and Joe Biden

WASHINGTON — An FBI informant has been indicted on two counts for allegedly feeding the bureau false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign.

Alexander Smirnov, 43, disliked Joe Biden and was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, according to the Justice Department. The case grew out of the special counsel investigation being led by David Weiss , who is also leading the case against Hunter Biden. Weiss had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Delaware.

The 37-page indictment alleges that Smirnov had been a confidential human source for the FBI since 2010 and "provided false derogatory information to the FBI" about both Bidens after Joe Biden became a candidate for president in 2020.

He is facing one count of making a false statement to a government agent and falsification of records in a federal investigation.

Hunter Biden and Joe Biden at Fort McNair in Washington

Smirnov allegedly told the FBI — falsely — that officials with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that Hunter Biden worked for, had told him they hired Hunter Biden because he would "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." Smirnov allegedly told the FBI — again, falsely — that Burisma officials had told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million and that it would take investigators 10 years to find the illicit payments to Joe Biden.

A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Hunter Biden does not know the individual who was charged and does not believe he ever met him.

An attorney for Hunter Biden told NBC News that Republicans had been warned that they “built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with agendas, not facts.”

“This is just another instance of Chairman [James] Comer and [Rep. Jim] Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses,” Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, continued in the statement.

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called for an end to the impeachment inquiry following the announcement of the indictment against Smirnov.

Smirnov's account was critical to Republicans' impeachment inquiry into the president.

“This is the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., chair of the House Republican Conference, told “Fox & Friends” in June of what Republicans had termed the “Biden bribery scheme.”

But according to the indictment, Smirnov's claims to the FBI, which he first made in June 2020, "were fabrications," and, in truth, he only "had contact with executives from Burisma in 2017," when Joe Biden had left office as vice president and "had no ability" to influence U.S. policy.

"In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] and his candidacy," the indictment alleges.

The indictment also states that Smirnov "repeated some of his false claims" after being interviewed by FBI special agents last September — after Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart that summer — while Smirnov "changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials."

Smirnov wrote in one May 2020 message to his FBI handler that Joe Biden was "going to jail" and suggested that he knew some of the allegations "should be soon in the news."

Smirnov was told at least seven times he may have to testify about information he provided to FBI and was admonished by the handler at least 21 times to tell the truth to the bureau, the indictment says.

The House Oversight Committee first learned of an issue with this confidential informant from the special counsel indictment being made public Thursday afternoon, a source familiar with the Biden family impeachment investigation told NBC News. DOJ, the FBI, and Weiss' office have not reached out to the committee, according to the source.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and other bureau officials briefed members of Congress on this issue last year during multiple in-person meetings. During those meetings, questions about the credibility of this confidential human source were asked, and the FBI told lawmakers that the source was highly valued by the FBI, was considered the "go to" source in the region, and had been paid six figures for work to date.

The FBI officials said at the time that they would not release the records being requested by Congress because the source was so highly valued and involved in multiple ongoing investigations.

A judge on Thursday ordered Smirnov to be detained pending a detention hearing, which has been scheduled for a federal court in Las Vegas next Tuesday at 3 p.m., the special counsel's office confirmed to NBC News.

biography on sentence

Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.

biography on sentence

Gary Grumbach produces and reports for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Fitzpatrick is a senior investigative producer and story editor for NBC News. She previously worked for CBS News and "60 Minutes." 

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Alexei Navalny

Western leaders point finger at Putin after Alexei Navalny’s death in jail

Russian opposition leader’s death described as political assassination attributable to president

  • Chemical burns, poisoning and prison: the persecution of Navalny
  • Long opposed to exile, Navalny dies in dark and dangerous Russia

Western leaders have held Vladimir Putin directly responsible for the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as the US president, Joe Biden, called it “yet more proof of Putin’s brutality”.

Navalny, 47, died while being held in a jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to 19 years under a “special regime”.

“Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden said in remarks from the White House on Friday.

The death of Navalny, once Putin’s most significant political challenger, is a watershed moment for Russia’s shattered pro-democracy movement, which has largely been jailed or driven into exile since the Ukraine invasion of 2022.

Though Navalny and his many supporters expected he could die behind bars, few thought it would be so soon. Reports of his death sent a shockwave of anger and disbelief through the ranks of his supporters, including his family.

“I don’t know whether to believe the terrible news,” his wife, Yulia, said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “But if it is true, then I would like Putin, his staff, his friends, his government, to know that they will be punished for what they’ve done with our country, my family and my husband. They will be brought to justice, and that day will come very soon.”

Alexei Navalny: police in Russia crack down on protests as activists are detained – video report

Navalny’s death raises questions about what tools the west still has to constrain or punish Putin, who has faced sanctions since 2022 and has been indicted by the international criminal court for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Biden in 2021 promised “devastating” consequences for Russia if Navalny were to die behind bars. However, it is not clear what could restrain Putin from a further crackdown on Navalny’s supporters in Russia and abroad.

In his remarks, Biden praised Navalny’s courage and his decision to return to Russia despite facing near-certain imprisonment.

“He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing,” Biden said. “In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sentenced him to prison, he held him in isolation … Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth.”

Russia has claimed Navalny died of natural causes. In a statement, the federal penitentiary service for the region where Navalny was incarcerated said he “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness”.

“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out but did not yield positive results,” the statement said. “The paramedics confirmed the death of the convict.” The Kremlin said Putin had been informed but had no further information.

Alexei Navalny's spokeswoman confirms his death and calls for return of body – video

Western reaction was swift, as top officials from the US and Europe accused the Kremlin of causing Navalny’s death. The Foreign Office summoned the Russian embassy in London, adding “we hold the Russian authorities fully responsible.”

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said: “His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.”

Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, responded angrily, calling western leaders’ remarks “absolutely outrageous and absolutely unacceptable”.

In Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities across Russia, small groups of Russians braved strict anti-protest laws and laid flowers at makeshift memorials to Navalny. More than 100 people were arrested, according to OVD-Info, a Russian rights group that tracks political arrests and offers legal aid.

Navalny had looked healthy when he appeared by video for a courtroom appeal on Thursday. Speaking from prison, he had complained about the frequent fines he had received while in a punitive cell and asked the judge to send him some money “as my own is running out thanks to your decisions”.

Alexei Navalny appears healthy in video-link court hearing on day before his death – video

The cause of death had not been established, the penitentiary service said. Last year Navalny was treated in hospital after complaining of malnourishment and other ailments caused by mistreatment in prison.

Navalny is survived by Yulia and their two children. On 14 February, his team published an Instagram post dedicated to his wife in which he wrote: “I feel that you are close to me every second and I love you more and more.”

Navalny was last seen by his lawyer on Wednesday, who said “everything was normal then”.

Leonid Volkov, another close ally, said: “We have no reason to believe the state propaganda … If this is true, then it’s not ‘Navalny died’, but ‘Putin killed Navalny’ and that’s the only way [to report it]. But I don’t believe them [for a second].”

In early December, Navalny disappeared from a prison in the Vladimir region , where he was serving a 30-year sentence on extremism and fraud charges that he had called political retribution for leading the anti-Kremlin opposition of the 2010s. He did not expect to be released during Putin’s lifetime.

Supporters and allies were visibly stunned by the news of his death, and many pointed the finger directly at the Kremlin.

Dmitri Muratov, the editor of Novaya Gazeta, told Reuters that Navalny’s death was “murder” brought on by his mistreatment in prison. Mikhail Fishman, a journalist, blinked back tears on the TV Rain channel as he said: “We must learn to live with this news somehow. But we understand the scale of what has happened, that we will mark this as a before-and-after moment.”

The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told National Public Radio: “If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy.”

Joe Biden says Vladimir Putin responsible for Alexei Navalny's death – video

Several other foreign officials also said Putin was directly responsible. “Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice,” the European Council president, Charles Michel, posted on X. “The EU holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death.”

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said it was “obvious” that Putin was behind Navalny’s death. The German finance minister, Christian Lindner, said: “Alexei Navalny fought for a democratic Russia. For that, Putin tortured him to death.”

Navalny, a former nationalist politician, helped foment the 2011-12 protests in Russia by campaigning against election fraud and government corruption, investigating Putin’s inner circle and sharing the findings in slick videos that garnered hundreds of millions of views.

'Russia is responsible': western leaders react to Alexei Navalny's death – video

The high-water mark in his political career came in 2013, when he won 27% of the vote in a Moscow mayoral contest that few believed was free or fair. He remained a thorn in the side of the Kremlin for years, identifying a palace built on the Black Sea for Putin’s personal use , mansions and yachts used by the ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, and a sex worker who linked a top foreign policy official with a well-known oligarch.

“He changed what it meant to be a politician in Russia when there was more freedom,” said Ben Noble, an associate professor of Russian politics at University College London and a co-author of Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future? “His ability to use social media effectively to reach new audiences, to act as an anti-corruption activist, protest leader, and opposition politician – he was quite extraordinary in this breadth of work. The activation of younger people also led to hope, that politics was something that they could get involved in.”

In 2020, Navalny fell into a coma after a suspected poisoning using novichok by Russia’s FSB security service and was evacuated to Germany for treatment . He recovered and returned to Russia in January 2021 , where he was arrested on a parole violation charge and received the first of several jail sentences that would have amounted to more than 30 years behind bars.

“Navalny left one Russia, returned to another, and perished in a third, where political prospects are absent in principle,” wrote Alexander Baunov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “There are only martyrs.”

Putin has recently launched a presidential campaign for his fifth term in office. He is already the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin and could surpass him if he runs again for office in 2030, a possibility since he had the constitutional rules on term limits rewritten in 2020.

“Alexei Navalny will not be forgotten,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, another senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “He was an absolutely unique example of a fearless politician in a country where politics in the traditional sense of the word was directly prohibited, under threat of repression. In a normal political competition, he would have had a chance to become the head of state.”

  • Alexei Navalny
  • Vladimir Putin

More on this story

biography on sentence

Vladimir Putin says Joe Biden was rude to call him a ‘crazy SOB’

biography on sentence

Navalny’s mother shown body and ‘blackmailed by authorities’ over funeral

biography on sentence

Lawsuit on release of Alexei Navalny’s body will not be heard until 4 March

biography on sentence

UK imposes sanctions on officials at prison where Alexei Navalny died

biography on sentence

The mysterious, violent and unsolved deaths of Putin’s foes and critics

biography on sentence

Jailed Russian activist says he fears for his life after death of Navalny

biography on sentence

Alexei Navalny was brave enough to mock Putin’s absurd tyranny. Is it any wonder he is dead?

biography on sentence

Yulia Navalnaya: the reluctant politician continuing her late husband’s work

biography on sentence

Alexei Navalny: a life in pictures

biography on sentence

Germany to propose new sanctions against Russia after death of Alexei Navalny

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COMMENTS

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  2. How To Use "Biography" In A Sentence: Exploring The Term

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  7. Examples of 'biography' in a sentence

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  12. How To Use "Biographies" In A Sentence: Breaking Down Usage

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  13. How To Write a Professional Short Bio (With Examples)

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  19. How To Write a Personal Bio (Plus Tips and Examples)

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  23. Alexei Navalny, Putin's fiercest foe, has died, officials say

    FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media prior to a court session in Moscow, on Aug. 22, 2019. Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024 Russia's prison agency said. He ...

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    Alexander Smirnov, 43, disliked President Joe Biden, according to the Justice Department. He was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas.

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    Artificial intelligence leader OpenAI introduced a new AI model called Sora which it claims can create "realistic" and "imaginative" 60-second videos from quick text prompts.

  27. Sayaka

    Page couldn't load • Instagram. Something went wrong. There's an issue and the page could not be loaded. Reload page. 76 likes, 6 comments - japanesewithsayaka on February 22, 2024: "Learn 👆 Kanji and words everyday! A small change makes a huge difference in the long run!