Paulo Coelho de Souza was born in Rio de Janeiro on August 24, 1947, the son of Lygia Araripe with Pedro Paulo Queima Coelho de Souza. She is a descendant of Bárbara de Alencar, grandmother of also writer José de Alencar and one of the leaders of the Pernambucana Revolution.
Coming from an upper class family, Paulo Coelho joined the traditional Colégio Santo Inácio in his hometown, then capital of Brazil, at the age of 7. From an early age, he liked to write and kept a diary. At school, he participated in poetry contests and theater courses with his colleague Paulo Cunha. However, his father wanted him to be an engineer and his mother discouraged him from pursuing a writing career.