Delia Owens Profile
Delia Owens is an American Author/Zoologist/Conservationist best known for her 2018 novel, Where the Crawdads Sing which brought about lots of controversies about her. She has also written about Africa in her Memoirs, The Eye of the Elephant, Secrets of Savannah, and Cry of the Kalahari.
Delia Owens Age
Owens was born on April 4, 1949, in Georgia, United States. She is therefore 74 years old as of 2023.
Delia Owens Height
Owens stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Delia Owens Family
Information regarding Delia’s parents and siblings is currently under review. However, the information will be updated as soon as it’s available.
Delia Owens Husband/Mark and Delia Owens
Owens first met his ex-husband, Mark Owens in a protozoology class at the University of Georgia when they were both graduate students studying biology. The duo tied the knot in the year 1973 and later on moved to South Africa in 1974. They made a move to South Africa to study animals in the Kalahari Desert and Zambia.
Later on, the duo were expelled from Botswana and are wanted for questioning in Zambia in relation to a murder investigation. These two are no longer married. After making a return to the United States, she has been involved in bear conservation. While at the University of Georgia, she met Mark Owens, now her ex-husband, and became stepmother to his son named Christopher Owens.
Delia Owens’ Net Worth
Owens has an estimated net worth of between $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through her successful career as an Author/Zoologist/Conservationist.
Delia Owens Education
Owens attended the University of Georgia where she obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology. Later on, she went on to receive a Ph.D. in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis.
Delia Owens Career
Owens is best known for her 2018 novel, Where the Crawdads Sing. Born and raised in Thomasville, Southern Georgia, she spent most of her life in or near true wilderness. Her novel went on to become one of the best-selling books of all time. This book was adapted into a 2022 film of the same name. She stated that she knew she wanted to be a writer but decided on a career in science.
Together with her husband, they moved to Africa in the year 1974, traveling for some time before making camp in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana. Her novel was written about the couple’s experience there. Later on, after they campaigned against the local cattle industry. The Botswana government officials, however, expelled them from the country. Later on, the Owenses settled in North Luangwa National Park, Zambia. This was before later settling in Mpika, Zambia, in the early 1990s.
After completing her Ph.D. in biology, she published her studies of African wildlife behavioral ecology in professional journals. These include Nature, the Journal of Mammalogy, Animal Behaviour, and the African Journal of Ecology. Asides from this, she contributed articles to Natural History and International Wildlife.
After the divorce from her husband, she spent many years living in Boundary Country, Idaho which is about twenty miles from Canada. Between the years 2019 and 2020, she made a move to a former horse farm near Asheville, North Carolina. Asides from this, she was the co-founder of the Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conservation in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Ownes has also worked as a roving editor for International Wildlife, lectured throughout North America, and participated in conservation efforts for the grizzly bear throughout the United States.
Delia Owens Awards and honors
In the course of her career, she has received a number of awards which include the Rolex Award for Enterprise for Kalahari Research Project which she received with her ex-husband in the year 1981. She also received the John Burroughs Award with Mark Owens in the year 1985. This is in addition to receiving the University of California Outstanding Alumnus Award in the year 1993. Asides from this, she received the Order of the Golden Ark(Netherlands) in the year 1994.
Delia Owens Zambian murder accusation/Delia Owens murder/Delia Owens Zambia
Her former husband, Mark, was accused of operating a “shoot to kill” policy against poachers while the couple were living in Zambia. ABC News aired a report in the year 1996 entitled “Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens Story.” This report featured the killing of a poacher in Zambia, allegedly committed by Delia’s stepson, Christopher. To date, Delia Owens denies the incident, explaining that she was not involved and that there was never a case.
Back in the year 2018, the best-selling novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, has aroused suspicion from those on her book tour about the parallels between the main character Kya, and her case, Delia’s own alleged accusation. Back in the year 2022, Reese Witherspoon has taken movie rights for her production company to bring the novel to the screen Later on, after the movie was released in the month of July 2022, Zambia confirmed the murder case was still open and Delia, Christopher, and Mark Owens were still wanted in Zambia for questioning. The Owenses have denied the accusations.
There were no charges brought against Owens or her ex-husband, Mark, or her stepson, Christopher. The Zambian officials told Jeffery Goldberg, a journalist, and editor-in-chief of the Atlantic Magazine, that they don’t believe Owens is a suspect. She, however, stated that they do believe that she is the most important witness.
Is Delia Owens Still Alive?
Yes. Owens is still very alive and kicking and is 74 years old as of 2023.
Delia Owens Africa
She has previously worked as a wildlife conservationist in Africa for about two decades. Owens was raised in Georgia and studied zoology at the University of Georgia. The duo first lived in Botswana before the government of Botswana expelled them from the country. Later on, they went on to live in Zambia with her husband and left the country after speculations of murder.
Delia Owens Racism
Owens’ racist condescension was serving only to a paint picture of Africa and Africans that places both as far removed from advancing civilization. This positioned her as this shining light bringing something awe-inspiring to these people. While in the United States, the 73-year-old’s novel Where the Crawdads Sing has sold 12 million copies and is now a film. While she was in Zambia, she and her family are wanted for questioning for murder.
Delia Owens House
Together with Mark, they spent about 23 years in Africa living with and studying endangered species.
Delia Owens controversy
Back in the year 2019, when Crawdads was becoming a true sensation, journalist Laura Miller, revisited the controversial aspects of Owens’ past for Slate in a story that went viral. While in the piece, she offered a comprehensive look at Owens and her former husband’s activities in Zambia. There, they worked for a number of years.
Most fans of Crawdads’ don’t know that Delia and Mark Owens had been advised never to return to one of the African nations, Zambia, where they once lived and worked. This is because they are wanted for questioning in a murder that took place there decades ago. She referenced Goldberg’s 2010 piece, where he wrote that “The American Embassy warned the Owenses not to enter Zambia until the controversy was resolved.
Delia Owens Books/Books by Delia Owens
Novels/Where the Crawdads Sing
- Where the Crawdads Sing was published in the year 2018. This is her first novel and is soon to be made a major motion picture. It has been on the New York Bestseller List for 2 and a half years and was the #1 New York Bestseller for more than a year. Asides from this, it was a #1 Bestseller in USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times among others. The book has more than 10 million copies sold worldwide and was the #1 Bestselling Book of the Year in 2019 and 2020. This is in addition to having 49 International Editions. The book was about her time in Zambia and the shooting of a suspected poacher there.
Memoirs
- Cry of the Kalahari was published in the year 1984. The books received a number of honors which include: international bestseller, National bestseller, New York Times bestseller, serialized in Life Magazine; condensed in Reader’s Digest, and winner of the John Burroughs Award for nature writing. It was also a National Geographic Special.
- The Eye of the Elephant was published in the year 1992
- Secrets of the Savanna was published in the year 2006. This book was Los Angeles’ bestseller.
Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens story
The film, Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens story was directed by Roger Goodman. This movie featured,
- Don Kress Don Kress where she featured as herself
- Delia Owens Delia Owens featured as herself
- Mark Owens Mark Owens as Herself
- Diane Sawyer Diane Sawyer as herself and Hostess
- Terril Shelly Terril Shelly as Herself
- Meredith Vieira Meredith Vieira as herself and correspondent