Joan Didion is an American author, journalist, and screenwriter. Her husband, John Gregory Dunne, was a novelist and screenwriter. She is also known for her close friendship with the Spanish painter Joan Miro and folk singer Joan Baez. Didion's works often explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos. She is best known for her novels 'Play It As It Lays' and 'The Year of Magical Thinking'.