Some people get a sudden gust of fame without ever intending to. Whether they like it or not, they cannot simply choose to dissociate themselves from some of the most famous names in entertainment. However, we can almost sense Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes‘ wish for normalcy, though she certainly cannot escape her tumultuous family.
Despite her efforts to stay away from the limelight, Arantes’ name inevitably raises eyebrows. After all, the surname Rowling practically gives it away, yet she refrains from exploiting it to her advantage. Over the years, we’ve learned a great deal about J.K. Rowling, much of it against our will, but well, you can’t always avoid the depths of internet gossip — or even Rowling herself. Nevertheless, we know many things about her, but one consistent aspect is her tendency to keep her family out of the spotlight.
At least, that was the case until now. With her podcast The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, we’ve gathered more information about her personal life than ever before. In the first episode, Rowling recounted details of her first marriage, frequently mentioning Jessica Arantes.
Who is Jessica Arantes?
Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes is J.K. Rowling’s first daughter, born from her marriage to Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes. At the time of Jessica’s birth, Rowling was married and living in Porto, Portugal, with her husband Arantes, where she began the manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. However, that marriage was described by the author as “short and catastrophic,” ending just a few months after Jessica was born.
On July 27, 1993, in the northern Portuguese city of Porto, Rowling welcomed her first child, and according to the author, Jessica’s upbringing was nothing short of eventful. In her podcast, the Scottish author shares that she was the victim of an abusive marriage to Arantes, who was allegedly incredibly violent with her — despite his denial to Portuguese media. In the podcast, Rowling shares that Arantes allegedly threw her out of the house five months after their daughter was born, forcing Rowling to return with the police to take her daughter back.
Aside from these eventful first few months, not much is known about her upbringing, though it is believed that she grew up primarily in Scotland with Rowling. However, much of the information circulating online about her daughter’s identity is inaccurate, as confirmed by Rowling herself. On March 21, Rowling took to Twitter to debunk the misconception that the social media accounts attributed to Jessica Arantes belonged to her daughter.
With over 53 thousand followers on TikTok, it’s understandable that many mistook her to be associated with the Rowling family name, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. According to Rowling, Jessica Arantes, the TikTok and Instagram influencer, is not her daughter, despite sharing the same first and last names. Additionally, the influencer’s content is in Brazilian Portuguese, whereas one might assume that Rowling’s daughter, if in touch with her Portuguese heritage, would likely use Portuguese from Portugal.
Nonetheless, at the time of writing, we don’t know the exact extent of Jessica’s connection with either her mother or father, but if her avoidance of using her parents’ names indicates anything, it’s that she appears to desire nothing but a normal life away from the limelight.