Celebrity

U.S. President Barack Obama was among those paying tributes to the author of legendary novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird', whom he dubbed had 'changed America for the better.'

• Feb 20, 2016

AceShowbiz - Harper Lee, the author of legendary novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", passed away on Friday, February 19 in her hometown in Monroeville, Alabama. Soon after the passing news broke, celebrities, politicians, authors and more paid tribute to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author on social media, and President Barack Obama was among those who remembered Lee.

The president took to Facebook to pay his respect to the author, who was 89 years old at the time of her death. "When Harper Lee sat down to write 'To Kill a Mockingbird', she wasn't seeking awards or fame. She was a country girl who just wanted to tell an honest story about life as she saw it," the president said in his post. "But what that one story did, more powerfully than one hundred speeches possibly could, was change the way we saw each other, and then the way we saw ourselves."

"Through the uncorrupted eyes of a child, she showed us the beautiful complexity of our common humanity, and the importance of striving for justice in our own lives, our communities, and our country. Ms. Lee changed America for the better," Obama added. "And there is no higher tribute we can offer her than to keep telling this timeless American story - to our students, to our neighbors, and to our children - and to constantly try, in our own lives, to finally see each other."

Former U.S. president George Walker Bush, who awarded Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, released a statement to mourn the "legendary novelist and lovely lady." Bush said, "Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and her masterpiece 'To Kill a Mockingbird' prodded America catch up with her. Laura [Bush] and I are grateful for Harper Lee and her matchless contributions to humanity and to the character of our country."

Famous authors like Stephen King and John Green, whose books include "The Fault in Our Stars" also acknowledged Lee's huge contribution to the literary world. "Let's celebrate the life of Harper Lee, who wrote an American classic and helped her friend Truman Capote write another," King wrote.

Let's celebrate the life of Harper Lee, who wrote an American classic and helped her friend Truman Capote write another.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) 19 Februari 2016

When my son Henry was born, Ms. Lee signed a copy of Looking for Alaska for him with the inscription, "Welcome to the world Henry Atticus."

— John Green (@johngreen) 19 Februari 2016

That book is my most prized possession. Ms. Lee lived a private life, but she was quietly and extraordinarily generous.

— John Green (@johngreen) 19 Februari 2016

Other celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Ariel Winter also paid tribute to the late writer. "Harper Lee my 1st favorite author! I always wanted to interview her. She said 'honey I already said everything I had to say.' #RIPHarperLee," Oprah, who previously admitted that Lee was one of two people she failed to convince to be interviewed, said.

Harper Lee my 1st favorite author! I always wanted to interview her. She said" honey I already said everything I had to say". #RIPHarperLee

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) 19 Februari 2016

She revealed it all...the glory and the fear and the hate and the beauty.

May she rest in peace. #HarperLee pic.twitter.com/3tfSEfSejx

— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) 19 Februari 2016

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— Ariel Winter (@arielwinter1) 19 Februari 2016