Mariane Pearl was born on July 23, 1967, in Clichy-la-Garenne, France, to Afro-Cuban and Dutch parents.

Like her husband, Daniel, Mariane was a freelance journalist when she met Daniel, who was on an assignment in Paris. They married in August 1999, and lived in Bombay, India. Daniel was the South East Asian bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal at that time.

The couple moved to Karachi, Pakistan, where they covered aspects of the war on terrorism. It was while they were living in Pakistan that Daniel went off one day to meet with people he was intending to interview. He never came home.

In February of 2002, the world watched on their television screens as Mariane’s husband was paraded in front of cameras and brutally murdered by terrorists. At that time Mariane was just five months pregnant with their son, Adam. Adam, was born three months after his father's murder.

Since Daniel’s murder, Mariane has written her memoirs, A Mighty Heart, which is an account of her experiences during that traumatic period. The book has been adapted into a movie directed by Brad Pitt, in which Angelina Jolie plays the role of Mariane and Dan Futterman, known for his role of Tyne Daly's son and brother of Amy Brenneman’s character in Judging Amy, is in the role of Daniel.

Angelina and Mariane had become friends prior to the making of the movie and remain close friends.

During an interview in June 2007, Larry King spoke to Angelina about the making of the movie and about the friendship that had grown between the two women and their children.

Today Mariane is a reporter and "Global Diary" columnist for Glamour magazine and co-founder of the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

Mariane now lives in the United States with her son and is still pursing justice through the Pakistani government for the murder of her husband.

YUDDY