How did L.J. Smith die? All about the 'The Vampire Diaries' author as she dies at 66

L.J. Smith, the beloved author of The Vampire Diaries book series, passed away on March 8 after a decade-long battle with a rare autoimmune disease. Her death was confirmed on her official website, which stated:

"Lisa Jane Smith of Danville, California passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 8, 2025, after a long bout with illness."

The post further continued:

"Lisa was a kind and gentle soul, whose brilliance, creativity, resilience and empathy, illuminated the lives of her family, friends and fans alike. She will be remembered for her imaginative spirit, her pioneering role in supernatural fiction, and her generosity, warmth and heart, both on and off the page."

Her passing was also confirmed by her partner, Julie Divola, a San Francisco-based tax attorney, in a statement to The New York Times.

All about L.J Smith, as the Vampire Diaries author passes away

According to her website, Lisa Jane Smith, or L.J. Smith, as she was popularly known, was born on September 4, 1958, to parents Glenn C. Smith and Kathryn J. Smith in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From a young age, Smith was drawn to the fantasy worlds of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and she later pursued a major in psychology at the University of Santa Barbara.

Before her passing, L.J. Smith had authored over twenty-nine books, with The Vampire Diaries series being her most well-known work. Other books authored by her include The Night Solstice, The Secret Circle, Heart of Valor, Night World, and Dark Visions, among others.

The popularity of The Vampire Diaries led to the creation of the hit 2009 television series of the same name. The show ran for eight seasons and was passionately adored by fans all over the world. Although Smith initially wrote the series, she was fired in 2011 after a creative dispute with the then-president of Alloy Entertainment.

In a 2012 interview with Salt Lake Magazine, L.J. Smith spoke about how she came to write the book series. She said:

"I was teaching public school, a kindergarten class with a lot of special ed kids, and I had these two books behind me when I got a phone call from a book packager. I didn’t know what a book packager was, but they asked if I would like to write a vampire trilogy, and that became The Vampire Diaries."

She further added:

"I guess one of their editors had read one of the books I had written, which were slightly scary, and thought I could do a trilogy for them with romance, supernatural elements and maybe even a little humor in it.”

Back in the 1990s, Alloy Entertainment had previously asked L.J. Smith to create a "young adult supernatural romance," which led to the publication of the first book of The Vampire Diaries series in 1991. However, according to The New York Times, despite the book series selling over five million copies worldwide, L.J. Smith never owned the copyright to the characters, which ultimately allowed Alloy Entertainment to fire her. Later, a ghostwriter was hired to finish the series in a way that aligned with the television adaptation.

"When they sent the contract, it said it was a work for hire. What it meant was I was giving up basically all the rights I’d have as a normal writer, including the right to continue writing my books.

And Alloy Entertainment decided they wanted shorter books that were promoting the television series, and they simply informed me, even though I had already written a book called Phantomfor them and given them all the information for that book and the next book,Moonsong, that my services were no longer required.” said Smith.

L.J. Smith is survived by her partner, Julie Divola, her sister, Judy Clifford, her niece, Laura Clifford, and her nephew, Briana Clifford.