Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (born October 3 1925; or /v ɪ ˈdæl/) is an American author of novels, stage plays, screenplays, and essays, and the scion of a prominent political family. He is an outspoken critic of the American political Establishment, and a noted wit and social critic who wrote the ground-breaking The City and the Pillar (1948) that outraged mainstream critics as the first major American novel to feature unambiguous homosexuality.

Gore Vidal was born in late 1925 to Gene Vidal, an aeronautics instructor at West Point, and his wife Nina. The Vidals endured a rocky marriage, and eventually divorced ten years after Gore's birth. Young Gore spent much of his childhood with his blind grandfather, Senator T.P. Gore of Oklahoma, and later became the stepbrother-in-law of one major US politician when his mother Nina married Jacqueline Kennedy's stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss (he would also become a cousin of former Vice President Al Gore). After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, Gore joined the US Army Reserve in 1943. Some of his Army experiences inspired his first novel, "Williwaw", which was published when he was just 19 (He dedicated the novel to "J.T.", a deceased friend from prep school). Subsequent novels would prominently feature gay male characters, and Gore found soon found his books had staying power on bestseller lists. In 1960, he (unsuccessfully) ran for Congress, backed by celebrity supporters, such as Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward (another unsuccessful foray into politics would occur in 1982). In addition to being an accomplished writer, he is also a novice actor (his biggest roles to date are in "Gattaca", "Bob Roberts", and "With Honors").