Rosie Boycott

Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and feminist. She was a co-founder of the feminist magazine Spare Rib and publisher Virago Press. She edited men's magazine Esquire and newspapers The Independent and Daily Express. She is also known for her books, appearances on Newsnight Review and participation in Celebrity MasterChef.

Early life The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born on 13 May 1951 in Saint Helier, Jersey. She was privately educated at the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College and read mathematics at the University of Kent, but dropped out of the course to work in the underground press scene.

Journalism career Boycott worked for a year or so with Frendz radical magazine and in 1972, she co-founded the feminist monthly magazine Spare Rib with Marsha Rowe. The 20,000 print run of the first two issues sold out, helped by the publicity received from the refusal of W. H. Smith to stock it. Boycott and Rowe, however, had significant differences and the formation of a collective to run the magazine, at Rowe's suggestion, led to Boycott being marginalised, and she resigned not much more than a year later after the launch. Later, both women became directors of Virago Press, a publisher committed to women's writing, with Carmen Callil, who had founded the company in 1973.

From 1992 to 1996, Boycott was editor of the UK edition of the men's magazine Esquire, where she almost doubled its circulation. who replaced her with OK! magazine publisher Chris Williams.

Boycott is currently the travel editor for The Oldie magazine and hosts The Oldie Travel Awards each year.

Outside journalism

In 1973, Boycott was jailed in Thailand for 18 days for smuggling cannabis. While working at The Independent, she started a campaign to legalise cannabis and was nicknamed "Rizla Rosie."

Boycott has presented the BBC Radio 4 programme A Good Read. She has sat on judging panels for literary awards, including chairing the panel responsible for choosing the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction. She is also a media advisor for the Council of Europe. Boycott is a trustee of the Hay Festival in Wales and in Cartagena, Colombia.

In March 2002, she denounced the New Labour government as "more reminiscent of a dictatorship than a free healthy democratic system", and announced her support for the Liberal Democrats. She was rumoured to have considered becoming a Parliamentary candidate. She campaigned for Diana, Princess of Wales in the 2002 BBC programme to find the greatest Briton.

Boycott made several appearances on Newsnight Review and other cultural and current affairs programmes, where the fact that she is a recovering alcoholic was discussed. She started drinking heavily again after losing her job at the Express. She was banned from driving for three years in September 2003 after crashing on the A303 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. After her accident, Boycott has been running a farm in Somerset.

On 5 August 2008, Boycott was appointed as the chair of "London Food" as part of Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson's attempt to help improve Londoners' access to healthy, locally produced and affordable food. Boycott has also appeared on The Weakest Link quiz show.

In June 2018, Boycott was nominated for a life peerage by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. She was created Baroness Boycott, of Whitefield in the County of Somerset, on 9 July.

In 2022, Boycott began a patron of The Vavengers women's and girls charity.

In January 2023, Boycott was awarded an honorary degree by Keele University "for contributions to journalism and social causes."

Boycott was a supporter of the Women's Equality Party.

Personal life Boycott is married to Charles Howard KC. Her first marriage was to journalist David Leitch (1937–2004).

Publications Batty Bloomers and Boycott: A Little Etymology of Eponymous Words, New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1983, The Fastest Diet, London: Sphere Books, 1984. A Nice Girl Like Me: A Story of the Seventies, Pavanne Books, 1988,