Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. was born on May 13, 1944, in Washington, D.C., United States, to Armistead Jones Maupin, co-founder of the Maupin, Taylor & Ellis law firm, and Diana Jane (nee Barton).
Maupin graduated from Needham Broughton High School in 1962 and went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He worked for Channel 5, where he received a patriotic award, nominated by the station's manager, future U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.
Maupin later renounced Helms' conservative beliefs and served several tours of duty in the United States Navy.
He wrote for a number of newspapers and in 1971 became a member of the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press.
In 1974, Maupin publicly came out as gay, although he claims he had known he was homosexual since childhood.
In 1976, he published "Tales of the City", the first novel in a series of nine books.
Maupin has been married to website producer and photographer Christopher Turner since 2007.
