(Paramaribo, Surinam, 1948) moved as a teenager, together with her family, to Amsterdam where she attended secondary school and afterwards studied social sciences. Working in mental healthcare provided her with inspiration for her books. At the age of 44 Ellen Ombre made her debut with the much praised book Maalstroom (Maelstrom) (1992). In this collection of short stories she reflects on her early years in the Netherlands. She also wrote Wie goed bedoelt (Who means well) (1996), an autobiographical travel journal, in which she sketches a picture of the triangular slave trading route between Surinam, the Netherlands and Benin. In 2000 she published the novel Valse verlangens (False desires), where she touches on the prejudices between the Surinamese and the Dutch. In 2004 she published Negerjood in Moederland (Negro-jew in the motherland). Ombre is a member of the international advice committee of the Prins Claus Fund. In 2005 she returned to Surinam.