LeUyen Pham (pronounced “Lay-Win Fam”) was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Her family left in the final days of the Vietnam War and settled in Southern California. LeUyen spent two years at UCLA studying political science when she decided to take an art class. Impressed with her work, the head of the art department guided her toward the prestigious ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, where she majored in illustration.  After graduation, LeUyen worked for DreamWorks’ Feature Animation division as a layout artist and illustrated books on the side.

Her book career took off, and she left DreamWorks to write and illustrate full time. Today, LeUyen is a New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator of more than 135 books. She illustrated the Vampirina Ballerina picture book series by Anne Marie Pace a Disney Junior animated TV series. LeUyen and Shannon Hale co-created the groundbreaking, best-selling graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends and Friends Forever, and they teamed up for the best-selling picture Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn series. Her book “Bear Came Along” by author Richard T. Morris received a 2020 Caldecott Honor. LeUyen and her family live in Los Angeles, and she says her friends call her “Win.”