Danielle Fernande Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947, New York City) better known as Danielle Steel, is an American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas.

Best known for her mainstream drama novels, Steel has sold more than 550 million copies of her books (as of 2005) worldwide and is the seventh best selling writer of all time. Her novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks and 22 have been adapted for television.

Her parents were John Schulein Steel, a descendant of the founders of Löwenbräu beer, and Norma da Câmara Stone Reis, the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat. Steel spent much of her early childhood in France, where from an early age she was included in her parents' dinner parties, giving her an opportunity to observe the habits and lives of the wealthy and famous. Her parents divorced when she was seven, however, and she was raised primarily in New York City by her father, rarely seeing her mother, who had moved to Europe.