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| A WOMAN OF INFLUENCE
Born in Upper Armley, Leeds, in Yorkshire, Barbara was the only child of Winston and Freda Taylor. Ask the internationally renowned best-selling author THE FORMATIVE YEARS
IT ALL STARTED WITH A BLIND DATE 1961 was a significant year for Barbara Taylor, a journalist who felt destined to become "a hard-bitten reporter in a dirty trenchcoat." On a blind date she met her husband-to-be, American film producer Robert Bradford,
and fell in love at first sight. In 1963 they married, and Barbara
moved to the USA. She carried on her journalistic career writing
a syndicated column, Designing Woman, covering interior design and
lifestyles, which appeared three times a week in 183 newspapers across
America. The column was published for twelve years and garnered several
awards. Children's books followed, plus eight books on decorating;
however, Barbara never lost her desire to write fiction, and despite several
failed attempts, the turning point came in 1976 when she sold A Woman of Substance to a publisher on the strength of a ten-page outline and 192 pages. The rest, as they DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE Barbara Taylor Bradford has, to date, written 20 novels -- each of which has been dedicated to "Bob." Both workaholics and unrepentant romantics, Barbara and Bob celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2003 and remain as dedicated to one another as they were when they first met. "I refer to him as the General," she says, "and he calls me Napoleon!" Robert produces all of her mini-series and films, structures her contracts and spearheads all of the activities of the industry that is Barbara Taylor Bradford. HONORS BESTOWED In 1990, the child who disappointed her parents by going to work on a newspaper instead of pursuing a higher education received a Degree of Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa from the Chancellor of Leeds University. Barbara Taylor Bradford received
the award from HRH the Duchess of Kent. BARBARA TAKES TIME TO CARE
I HAPPEN TO LIKE NEW YORK Barbara loves her adopted homeland and, in particular, New York. In a landmark building in Manhattan, overlooking the East River, she and Bob live with their two Bichon Frises
dogs, Beaji and Chammi, who sit under Barbara’s desk while she writes,
as did their predecessor, Gemmy. READ THE BOOKS, SEE THE MOVIE! In recent years, an astounding ten of Barbara Taylor Bradford's fifteen novels have been made into television mini-series. They are: A Woman of Substance, Voice of the Heart, Act of Will, Hold the Dream, To Be the Best, Remember, Everything to Gain, Love in Another Town, Her Own Rules and A Secret Affair. The acting talents who have graced these works are indeed impressive and reflect the integrity of the original published works. They include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir John Mills, Jenny Seagrove, Gayle Hunnicut, Liam Neeson, Deborah Kerr, James Brolin, Miranda Richardson, Claire Bloom, Ian Richardson, Nigel Havers, Nicola Pagett, Lindsay Wagner, Elizabeth Hurley, Donna Mills, Stephen Collins, Victoria Principal, Samantha Eggar, Jean Simmons, Melissa Gilbert, Leigh Lawson, Charles Shaughnessy, Jack Scalia, Sean Young and Janine Turner. In 1996, another of Barbara's novels was dramatized for BBC Radio with an all-star cast including Robin Ellis, Dorothy Tutin, Siam Phillips, Emma Fielding and Nicola Pagett. Her latest film A Secret Affair, based on her novel and shot on locations in Venice and Ireland, aired on the CBS Television network on October 27, 1999. Where You Belong is now in development as a television movie for the CBS television network. 
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who influenced her the most throughout her childhood, and she will unhesitatingly tell you it was her mother. Freda Taylor was a former children's
nurse and nanny -- and a voracious reader who introduced Barbara to books
at the tender age of 4. By the time she was 12, she had read all of Dickens and the Brontes. Seeds for the future were sown.
After attending Christ Church Elementary School and Northcote Private School
for Girls, Barbara Taylor Bradford started work as a typist for the Yorkshire
Evening Post. She was 15 1/2. Within six months she was promoted
to cub reporter in the newsroom. "It was because I was such a bad
typist and was ruining so much of their expensive paper!" she joked.
Nevertheless, at 18 she became the newspaper's Woman's Page Editor. At
age 20 she decided to head for London, where she became Fashion Editor
of the magazine Woman's Own. In the ensuing years in Fleet Street,
hub of Britain's publishing empire, she covered every beat from crime to
show business reporting for the London Evening News, Today Magazine and
other publications. The grounding paid off. Today Barbara Taylor Bradford is published in over 90 countries in 40 languages, with sales figures in excess of 81 million.
say,
is history.
The
Brotherton Library of Leeds University became the keeper of the Barbara
Taylor Bradford archive in 1988, and the archive is part of the world-renowned
Brotherton Collection. Barbara Taylor Braford’s manuscripts are housed
in glass-fronted cases, next to those of the Bronte sisters, who wrote
such classics as "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre." In 1995 Barbara
received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bradford and, the
following year, another Honorary Doctorate from the Teikyo Post University
in Connecticut. Other awards include the Matrix Award in books from
New York Women in Communications Inc. (1985), the American Society of Interior
Designers' "Editorial Award for Writing Excellence" (1985), the Special
Jury Prize for Body of Literature from the Deauville Festival of American
Film (1994), the Birmingham-Southern College "Gala 12" Woman of the Year
Award (1995), City of Hope’s "Spirit of Life Award" and the establishment
of the "Barbara Taylor Bradford Research Fellowship in Pediatric Leukemia"
(1995), the Girls Inc. "She Knows Where She’s Going Award" (1995), the
PAL "Police Athletic League Women of the Year Award" (1995), Albert Einstein
College of Medicine’s "Spirit of Achievement Award" (1996), the Five Towns
Music and Art Foundation’s "Award of Achievement" for outstanding accomplishments
in the field of Literature (1997), and the British Excellence Award given
aboard the QE2 (1998). She was also inducted into the Matrix Hall
of Fame in 1998. In 2003, Barbara was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America,
joining the ranks of Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Dr. Seuss and
Langston Hughes. In June of 2007, Barbara was awarded an OBE (The Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to Literature. Barbara received her medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
In addition to her hectic writing schedule, she also manages to serve on the
board of PAL, the Police Athletic League, a charity for underprivileged
children. She is also a member of the Author's Guild of America Council and is on the board of PACT, Parents & Abducted Children Together. Barbara is also involved in several charities
including City-Meals-On-Wheels and The Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation.
She was an ambassador for the March of Dimes in 1999 while on the road
promoting her novel 
The
view is spectacular but Barbara rarely gets to enjoy it spending as she
does up to eight hours a day, five days a week, writing and staring at
a blank wall. When she has time, she prepares special
dishes from her native Yorkshire -- such as chicken-in-the-pot and cottage
pie -- for informal dinners for close friends. Their apartment boasts
possessions that reflect tastes both passionate and personal, collections
of Art Deco antiques and Biedermeier furniture, teapots (one of which was
given as a wedding present to her parents in the '20s), 
contemporary Impressionist
paintings, and Winston Churchill memorabilia -- including a letter to her
by Clementine Churchill when she was 10. One of Barbara's prized
possessions is "Susie," a doll she was given when she was one year old!
