Why write a biography? It only pins you down. Suffice to say I was born in Africa. And already that’s seeing the world without its skin. My father was the local gynaecologist. My mother was born in Strasbourg. My grandmother lived with us. In many ways I loved my childhood but not in others. I would have been cheating myself if I hadn’t left to study English literature in Britain. Before that I was lucky enough to live in Paris on the threshold of womanhood, in the spring, on my own, and of course that stays with you forever. We ate well and cheaply and I learnt to love wine and got engaged. At Edinburgh I got a First class MA Honours and the Janet Christie Bequest to study abroad. So we drove to Florence and lived in an old farmhouse for 8 months, learning Italian, studying at the British Institute.
In the slipstream of your life you imagine you’ll be a great writer, another Virginia Woolf, have the perfect family, be the best mother. So many impossible aims. I ended up being a journalist. A mother to one daughter. A lover. As a journalist I did quite a lot of good in the beginning. Campaigning stories, saving a horribly mistreated lioness in Italy, seals in the Hebrides, premature babies at Dulwich hospital in need of incubators, endangered leatherback turtles in Tobago. I have done a lot of travel articles, restaurant and hotel reviews, and many years of exciting seat-of-the pants Showbiz stories, travelling with Freddie Mercury, Rod Steward, Spandau Ballet, interviewing Angelina Jolie, Leonardo di Caprio, Bono, Jude Law. Now I’m writing a novel set in Venice and its working title is Behind the Mirror. With a novel, which takes years to write, you’re not the same person at the end of the book as you were at the beginning. The story has changed, the characters are deeper, but you have changed with them. You fall in love with all of them. I’m nearly ready to say goodbye to them and let them stand on their own.
Gideon Raff, writer of hit C4 drama Homeland, tells Sharon Feinstein Gilad Schalit’s surprise visit to the set in Israel left cast and crew stunned “Can I get a photo of myself choking you?” Gilad Schalit asked Iranian actor Navid Negahban, who plays terrorist Abu Nazir in the hit TV show Homeland. And he did. … Continued
The moment you turn into Chewton Glen’s sweeping drive, past the rolling lawns and glistening lake, a sense of calm descends on you.The warm staff welcome was so heartening we couldn’t help smiling. And what with our car whisked away, coats taken, and before long even our dirty boots polished to perfection, we gave ourselves … Continued
It was the day the happiest face in pop was creased with anguish. Harry Styles was unable to hold back the tears when his father sat him down and broke the news he was going to leave. For the seven-year-old boy destined to become one of the biggest stars on the planet – it felt … Continued
Most fathers, on being told at Christmas by their already once-divorced young daughter that she was five months pregnant by a long-haired singer in a rock band called S.C.U.M, would reach despairingly for the whisky bottle and wonder where it had all gone so terribly wrong. Yet Bob Geldof’s reaction when Peaches broke the news … Continued
The Chewton Glen Hotel makes its guests feel as pampered as possible. Sharon Feinstein and her daughter Lara check in for a spot of utter serenity… Set on the edge of the ancient New Forest, Chewton Glen is the quintessential English country hotel. Once you’ve turned into the sweeping drive, past the sun-dappled lawns and … Continued
In a rare interview, Holywood legend Jon Voight speaks sxclusively about his affinity with Israel and reconciliation with daughter Angelina Jolie It was the Jewish golf club where his father worked as a caddy that changed Jon Voight’s life forever.There, as a young boy, he saw how anti-Semitism had forced members to form their own … Continued
She is one of Britain’s leading actresses who is currently portraying Henry VIII’s second wife at the Globe Theatre. Here, Miranda Raison tells Coutts Woman, how Boleyn’s influence has rubbed off on her. Playing the, magnetic Anne Boleyn has had a profound impact on one of Britain’s leading actresses, Miranda Raison. The 32-year-old, well-known for … Continued
Sam Waley-Cohen brought Will and Kate back together. But, writes Sharon Feinstein, he’s very modest about it. Sam Waley-Cohen has the golden touch, winning at everything he turns his hand to. He has just become the first amateur jockey for 30 years to win one of racing’s most coveted prizes, The Cheltenham Gold Cup, on … Continued
