celeb-db日本語
Photo of Tobias Wolff

Photo: Mark Coggins from San Francisco / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Tobias Wolff

Born June 19, 1945 (age 81). From Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Novelist / writer / autobiographer.

American novelist

  • Alabama
  • novelist
  • writer
  • autobiographer

Tobias Wolff was born on June 19, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States and is credited as a novelist, writer and autobiographer. As of 2026, Tobias Wolff is 81 years old. Schooling on record includes Stanford University. Recorded honors include PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (1985), Guggenheim Fellowship and PEN/Malamud Award (2006). Credited works include Old School and This Boy's Life.

My Take

Tobias Wolff earns my respect through sheer honesty. This Boy's Life lays out a rough, complicated boyhood without flinching, and that kind of candor is far rarer than people think; memoir collapses into vanity the moment a writer starts flattering himself, and Wolff never does. There's a quiet symmetry to his life too, from Birmingham to teaching at Stanford, that reads like one of his own stories. The PEN/Faulkner and PEN/Malamud awards confirm what readers already feel: he's a master of the short form precisely because he trusts plain truth over decoration. I suspect his students absorbed that lesson better than any craft manual could teach.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

1. Profile

Name (English)
Tobias Wolff
Name (Japanese)
トバイアス・ウルフ
Reading
とばいあす・うるふ
Born
June 19, 1945 (age 81)
Origin
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Occupation
novelist / writer / autobiographer / screenwriter / university teacher
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
Gemini / Rooster

2. Background

University
Stanford University

Awards & achievements

  • 1985 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
  • Guggenheim Fellowship
  • 2006 PEN/Malamud Award

3. Works & records

Filmography / notable works

CategoryTitle
Notable workOld School
Notable workThis Boy's Life

5. About this entry

Tags

  • Alabama
  • novelist
  • writer
  • autobiographer
Last updated

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.

Frequently asked questions

When was Tobias Wolff born?

Born June 19, 1945 (age 81).

Where is Tobias Wolff from?

Tobias Wolff is from Birmingham, Alabama, United States.

What does Tobias Wolff do?

Tobias Wolff works as novelist, writer, autobiographer, screenwriter, university teacher.

What is Tobias Wolff known for?

Notable works include Old School, This Boy's Life.

Novelist — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from the United States →