Ayn Rand , born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum , was a Russian-born American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is widely known for her best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism.

Rand advocated rational individualism and laissez-faire capitalism, categorically rejecting socialism, altruism, and religion. Her ideas continue to attract attention from both admirers and critics.