Curated playlist
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie vanished for 11 days in 1926, and a nationwide manhunt followed. She was found at a Harrogate hotel.
- Elizabeth TaylorAfter Rock Hudson said he was dying of AIDS, Elizabeth Taylor helped found a research foundation in 1985.
- Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is the only person to win Oscars for both acting and screenwriting.
- Judi DenchJudi Dench won an Oscar for a role that lasted about eight minutes. She played Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.
- Janet NelsonAfter her 1967 PhD, Janet Nelson's supervisor reportedly told a colleague not to speak of her.
- Julie AndrewsJulie Andrews sang on a beer crate as a child. She needed it to reach the microphone in wartime variety shows.
- Helen MirrenDame Helen Mirren was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff on the 26th of July 1945, at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in the Hammersmith district of London. Neither the first name nor the surname on that record would last. The woman who…
- Hilary MantelHilary Mantel became the first woman to win the Booker Prize twice. Her winners were Wolf Hall and its sequel.
- Olivia Newton-JohnDame Olivia Newton-John sold more than 100 million records, a total that makes her the highest-selling female Australian recording artist of all time. She was born in Cambridge, England, in 1948 and raised in Melbourne. Her career…
- Jane GoodallJane Goodall had no university degree when she began studying chimpanzees. Cambridge still let her earn a doctorate.
- Prue LeithPrue Leith joined The Great British Bake Off in March 2017, taking over as a judge from Mary Berry when the programme moved to Channel 4. It was a high-profile seat to inherit. Yet the newcomer already had a career that few in British food…