Bay Area author Isabel Allende was honored Monday with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
Allende is famous worldwide for her novels, including “House of the Spirits” and "City of the Beasts." She has published 21 books that have sold 65 million copies in 35 languages, according to the White House.
Allende was born in Peru but spend most of her early life in Chile and lived there on and off until she was exiled by the 1973 coup.
She met her second husband, attorney Willie Gordon, during a visit to California in 1988 and later settled in the Bay Area. The setting of her novel "Maya's Notebook" alternates between Berkeley and Chile.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award given to people who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation and the world.
"And I feel that I'm not alone in this, that I come representing millions of Hispanics that have immigrated here like myself, and we are all together," she said.
Other honorees presented with the Medal of Freedom include Stevie Wonder, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and actress Meryl Streep.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
