Ayn Rand was a Russian-American writer and philosopher best known for developing the philosophical system of Objectivism. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1905 and emigrated to the United States in 1926. Rand gained fame through her novels, particularly "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged," which emphasize individualism and laissez-faire capitalism. Her philosophy advocates rational self-interest and the pursuit of one’s own happiness as the highest moral purpose.