Conran, Shirley (1932–)
Conran, Shirley (1932–)
British designer and journalist. Born Shirley Ida Pearce, Sept 21, 1932, in Hendon, England; mother-in-law of fashion designer Georgina Godley; attended St. Paul's Girls' School, London, and a finishing school in Switzerland; trained as a painter and sculptor at Southern College of Art, Portsmouth; m. Sir Terence Conran (designer and businessman), 1955 (div. 1962); m. John Stephenson; m. once more; children: (1st m.) Jasper and Sebastian Conran (both designers).
Bestselling author, worked as press officer for Asprey Suchy jewelers and then publicity officer for Conran Group Companies; became fabric designer and director for Conran Fabrics and member of selection committee of Design Centre, London (1961–69); was Home editor for Daily Mail, 1st woman's editor of Observer Colour magazine, and woman's editor for Daily Mail, where she launched "Femail"; wrote column and features for Vanity Fair and Woman's Own; moved to Monaco (1979); other writings include Superwoman (1975), Lace (1982), The Magic Garden (1983), Savages (1987) and The Amazing Umbrella Shop (1990); also wrote children's books Crimson (1991), Tiger Eyes (1994) and The Revenge of Mimi Quinn (1998).