Before she found fame with vampires, author Anne Rice called Bay Area home

While famous bestselling vampire novelist Anne Rice was known for her deep connections to her birthplace of New Orleans, many might not realize that she spent many years in the Bay Area, living both in San Francisco and in Berkeley.

Rice’s son Christopher Rice announced his mother’s death on Twitter on Saturday from complications from a stroke, writing that as he sat by her bed in her final hours he was, “awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog-laced hills of the San Francisco Bay to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California.” She was 80.