Her books are noted for their humor and sharp, witty dialogue. Quinn considers herself a feminist and gives her heroines feminist qualities that are not necessarily true to the most prevalent attitudes of the times her novels are set in. She left medical school and devoted herself, full-time, to her writing. After a few months of studying medicine, Quinn realized that she preferred writing to medical study.

By the time Quinn finally entered Yale School of Medicine, intending to become a doctor, three of her books had been published. A few weeks after she was accepted to medical school, she discovered that her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing At Midnight, had been sold at auction, an unusual occurrence for a novice romance author. To occupy herself during the long days of studying science, Quinn began to write light-hearted Regency novels. She postponed medical school for two years while she wrote two more novels. That decision required her to attend two additional years of college to complete the science prerequisites necessary to apply for medical school. During her senior year of college, she realized that she did not know what she wanted to do with her degree and decided to attend medical school. Quinn graduated from Hotchkiss School and Harvard with a degree in Art History. After finishing her novel, three years later, she submitted it to Sweet Dreams, but it was rejected. Challenged to prove that she was, indeed, interested in pursuing a writing career, Quinn sat down at their computer and wrote her first two chapters. She promptly told him that she was studying the literary series, in order, because she was interested in writing a novel in the future. At age 12, her father disagreed with her choices of reading material, which included the Sweet Dreams and the Sweet Valley High book series, and he told her she could only continue reading them if she could prove that they contributed to the development of her reading skills. Quinn developed an appreciation for literature at an early age, and since childhood, she thoroughly enjoyed reading. She was raised primarily in New England, although she spent much of her time in California, following the divorce of her parents.

She has three sisters: Emily, Abigail, and Ariana. Quinn was born as Julie Cotler in 1970 to Jane and Stephen Lewis Cotler. Her Bridgerton series of novels has been adapted for Netflix by Shondaland under the title Bridgerton. She has been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List 19 times. Julie Pottinger (née Cotler born January 12, 1970), better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is a best-selling American author of historical romance fiction.

How to Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn