Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup (born 12 November 1962) is a British journalist and television presenter, well known on British TV and radio, mainly for arts programmes. Her 'gravelly' voice was once voted the sexiest female voice on TV,^[1] and research showed that Frostrup's voice was one of three voices (narrowed from fifty) selected to contribute to a Post Office Telecoms study resulting in a "perfect female voice".^[2] Her voice is often used on TV commercials as well.

Early life

Frostrup was born in Oslo, Norway, but moved with her family as a child to Ireland, living in Kilmacanogue, a small village in County Wicklow. Her Norwegian father, who died aged 44, was a journalist on The Irish Times, and her Scottish-born mother an artist.

Career

After the death of her father, in 1977 she moved to London. There, she worked as a public relations executive for Phonogram Records between 1980 and 1990; marshalled the PR for the Live Aid concert at Wembley in 1985; and, after leaving Phonogram, swiftly broke into television as a presenter and film critic.

Frostrup presented the Channel 4 music show Big World Cafe in 1989 alongside Eagle Eye Cherry and Jazzie B.

She also presented Thames Television's Video View from 1990 and, after Thames lost the London ITV franchise, reprised the role straight afterwards on The Little Picture Show for Carlton Television from 1993.^{[citation needed]}

Frostrup has interviewed many different celebrities, writers and other artists and has presented a variety of different TV programmes, including one on travel, and has appeared in other TV shows such as the series Have I Got News for You and the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She made several guest appearances as herself in the series Coupling, including an episode where one of the characters fantasizes about her, then meets her in person.^[3]

Frostrup presented the BBC Radio 2 show The Green Room, and also regularly presents Open Book (most Sundays and Thursdays) on Radio 4.

She has written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, Harpers & Queen and the New Statesman. She is also an art critic and has been on the judging panels for the Man Booker Prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Evening Standard British Film Awards.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2007 she chaired a question-and-answer session with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth, Dorset.^[4]

In 2008, Frostrup received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of her contribution and commitment to journalism and broadcasting.

She is the regular presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Open Book, interviewing authors and publishers and reviewing new fiction and non-fiction books. She was the presenter of The Book Show on Sky Arts 1 where she interviewed an extensive list of guests on their recent works and their "favourite heroes and heroines from fiction". The show was cancelled in 2013.

Advocacy

Frostrup's political views have been described as "a bit left-of-centre".^[5] She has been active in the charity sector for two decades, having worked on Bank Aid and Comic Relief along with various fundraising initiatives for Oxfam, The Children's Society and Save the Children. Campaigning for women's rights and gender equality has become her main focus; she has recently made several trips to Africa to meet women and young girls in their communities, and experiencing first hand the realities and inequalities of the lives that they lead.

In 2010 she created, along with three other trustees, the Gender Rights and Equality Action Trust. This foundation aims at fostering gender equality and raising awareness and funds, to support grass roots gender equality projects in Africa and beyond. The GREAT Initiative works in partnership with Femmes Africa Solidarité, an African charity.

Personal life

Frostrup was first married (1979–1984) to Richard Jobson, former lead singer with the punk rock group the Skids. On a charity trek in Nepal, Frostrup met human rights lawyer Jason McCue, whom she married aged 39. The couple live in London, and have two children.^[6]

She is close friends with actress Gina Bellman,^[7] one of the stars of Coupling, in which she had a cameo role alongside Angus Deayton.

Bibliography

• Frostrup, Mariella – Dear Mariella: an Indispensable Guide to Twenty-First Century Living – Bloomsbury, 2004 ISBN 978-0-7475-7441-5

References

External links

• Short profile on BBC website
• Mariella Frostrup at the Internet Movie Database
• Journalisted – Articles by Mariella Frostrup
• The Book Show on Sky Arts website
• The GREAT Initiative