The Baroness Boycott | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2018 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rosel Marie Boycott (1951-05-13)13 May 1951 (age 73) Saint Helier,Jersey |
| Political party | Crossbench |
| Spouse(s) | David Leitch Charles Howard |
| Education | Cheltenham Ladies' College;University of Kent |
| Occupation | Journalist, editor |
Rosel Marie "Rosie"Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist andfeminist.
The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born inSaint Helier,Jersey. She was privately educated at the independentCheltenham Ladies' College and read mathematics at theUniversity of Kent.
Boycott worked for a year or so withFrendz radical magazine[1] and in 1972, she co-founded the feminist magazineSpare Rib withMarsha Rowe. Later, both women became directors ofVirago Press, a publisher committed towomen's writing, withCarmen Callil, who had founded the company in 1973.
From 1992 to 1996, Boycott was editor of the UK edition of the men's magazineEsquire. From 1996 to 1998, she headedThe Independent and its sister publication theIndependent on Sunday.
Later, she edited theDaily Express (May 1998–January 2001), leaving soon after the newspaper was bought byRichard Desmond, who replaced her withChris Williams.
Boycott is currently the travel editor forThe Oldie magazine and hostsThe Oldie Travel Awards each year.[citation needed]
Boycott has presented theBBC Radio 4 programmeA Good Read. She has sat on judging panels forliterary awards, including chairing the panel responsible for choosing the 2001Orange Prize for Fiction. She is also a media advisor for theCouncil of Europe.[2] Boycott is a trustee of theHay Festival in Wales and inCartagena, Colombia. In March 2002, she denounced theNew Labour government as "more reminiscent of a dictatorship than a free healthy democratic system",[3] and announced her support for theLiberal Democrats. She was rumoured to have considered becoming aParliamentary candidate.
Boycott made several appearances onNewsnight Review and other cultural and current affairs programmes, where the fact that she is arecovering alcoholic was discussed. She started drinking heavily again after losing her job at theExpress.[4] She was banned from driving for three years in September 2003 after crashing on theA303 in Wiltshire, injuring another driver. She was cut free from the wreckage. A court was told she had also been caught drunk driving the day before.[5] Since her accident, Boycott has been running a farm inSomerset.[6] She campaigned forDiana, Princess of Wales in the 2002 BBC programme to find the greatest Briton.
On 5 August 2008, Boycott was appointed as the chair of "London Food" as part of Conservative MayorBoris Johnson's attempt to help improve Londoners' access to healthy, locally produced and affordable food. In September 2007, she appeared in the third series ofHell's Kitchen, and was the first contestant to be voted off. In June 2009, she appeared onCelebrity MasterChef. The same month she was one of five volunteers who took part in a BBC series of three programmes entitledFamous, Rich and Homeless, about living penniless on the streets of London.[7]
In June 2018, Boycott was nominated for alife peerage by theHouse of Lords Appointments Commission.[8] She was createdBaroness Boycott, of Whitefield in the County of Somerset, on 9 July.[9]
Boycott is a supporter of theWomen's Equality Party.[10]
Boycott is married to Charles Howard KC.[11][12] Her first marriage was to journalist David Leitch (1937–2004).[13][14]
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Editor ofThe Independent on Sunday 1996 – May 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Editor ofThe Independent January 1998 – March 1998 | Succeeded by Rosie Boycott andAndrew Marr |
| Preceded by Rosie Boycott | Editor ofThe Independent (jointly withAndrew Marr) March 1998 – May 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Editor of theDaily Express 1998 – 2001 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
