Mark Bowden [Black Hawk Down’s Author] | Wife, Family, Bio, & Net Worth

Mark Bowden is a veteran author and journalist who has written around fifteen books. His works include Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Bringing the Health, Doctor Dealer, etc. Out of his works, Black Hawk Down became the New York Times bestseller and even got a motion picture made on it. It later went on to win two Oscar awards.

Besides writing excellent books, Bowden also worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years. Even after taking his leave from the Inquirer, Bowden still works as a contributing journalist for magazines like Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc.

Quick Bio Summary

Popular NameMark Bowden
Real NameMark Robert Bowden
Date of birthJuly 17, 1951
Age72 years old
Place of birthSt. Louis, Missouri, USA
HometownIllinois, USA
Current cityOxford, Pennsylvania, USA
FatherRichard H. Bowden
MotherRita Lois Keane Bowden
SiblingsNone
OrientationStraight
StatusMarried
SpouseGail Louise McLaughlin
ChildrenFive
Son(s)Aaron Bowden, Benjamin Bowden,
Daniel Bowden, and William Bowden
DaughterAnya Bowden
OccupationAuthor and Journalist
Net worth7 Million USD
NationalityAmerican
ReligionCatholic
ZodiacCancer
HeightUnknown
WeightUnknown
MeasurementUnknown
Hair ColorGray
Eye ColorBlue
ComplexionFair
Instagram idmrjbowden
TwitterMark Bowden

Mark Bowden’s Net Worth

Bowden has over twenty years of experience as a journalist and still works for many renowned magazines.

His experiences as a journalist and an author have helped him earn a good deal of fortune.

The author has around 7 million USD as his net worth.

Early Life, Parents, Wife, and Family

Bowden was born in St. Louis, Missouri as an only child to his parents, Richard and Rita. He is also the first cousin of the football coach, Bobby Bowden.

Despite being born in Missouri, he lived in Illinois, New York, and Maryland while growing up.

The Los Angeles Times Book Award winner has not shared many details about his family background or upbringing.

So, no one knows a lot about his personal life.

Who is Mark Bowden’s Wife?

Bowden is married to his beautiful wife, Gail Louise McLaughlin.

The couple has five children between them, four sons and one daughter.

They also have several grandchildren from their five children.

Children

He has four sons; Aaron, Benjamin, Daniel, and William Bowden. His daughter’s name is Anya Bowden.

Education

The finalist for the National Book Award attended Loyola University, Maryland, in college. 

He completed his studies at the university in 1973 with a BA degree in English literature.

MORE: Biography of American columnist journalist David Ignatius.

Career and Books

Bowden got interested in journalism after reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid test by Tom Wolfes in college. The book changed his life and pushed him towards journalism.

He started working for The Philadelphia Inquirer as its staff writer. He worked for the public-benefit corporation for the next twenty years before calling it quits.

Despite leaving the Inquirer, he continued his passion for writing articles and worked for other publications like Vanity fair.

Bowden is one of the sorted-out journalists in the USA and is the man behind the interview of former President Donal Trump in Vanity Fair. However, before starting as a journalist, he was already an author.

Bowden had already published Doctor Dealer and Bringing the Health before working for the Inquirer. He wrote both of his books based on actual research he did for reports while working for the newspaper.

His pen did not stop with only these two books as he went on to write more than thirteen books. His book Black Hawk Down, based on the raid in Somalia, became a best seller.

Along with publishing books and articles, Bowden also worked as a teacher. He worked at Loyola University Maryland as an adjunct professor. He taught journalism and creative writing there for nineteen years till 2019.

He also worked at the University of Delaware till 2017 as a distinguished writer in residence.

Controversy

The veteran writer became a part of controversy for his article on late LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus for Vanity Fair titled A Case So Cold It Was Blue.

Bowden got accused of creating fake quotes and statements and was asked for a fact check by Trials & Tribulations, a legal blog that reports on the legal affairs of California.

The blog presented its doubt about the article and accused Bowden of misconduct. It even accused Bowden of never actually the murder trial hearings.

A seven-part series got made to fact-check the article, and they even reached out to the editor Cullen Murphy for it. 

However, Bowden and Murphy declined to give a statement or clarify the accusation.

Later, the journalist and reporter Craig Silverman posted on the Pointer Journalism School that Murphy had emailed him stating that the quotes and statements included in the article by Bowden were accurate and without distortion.