Shirley Conran | |
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![]() Conran on the cover of Superwoman (1977) | |
Born | Shirley Ida Pearce 21 September 1932 Middlesex, England |
Died | 9 May 2024 London, England | (aged 91)
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Dame Shirley Ida Conran DBE (née Pearce; 21 September 1932 – 9 May 2024) was a British author, designer, journalist and social entrepreneur.
After her marriage to Terence Conran with whom she worked as a designer and sales director at Conran Fabrics, she became women's editor of The Observer and the Daily Mail, launching its Femail section. After a serious illness left her with ME, making it difficult for her to work, she wrote best-selling books including the feminist self-help Superwoman (1975) and the bonkbuster Lace (1982).[citation needed]
In later life, she campaigned and founded charities to encourage maths education for women. For this, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was invested in hospital a week before her death.[1]